


Thunder Rolls

by Amycat8733



Series: Lightning 'verse [12]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Drama, F/M, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Sentient Atlantis, Transformation, Weddings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-07
Updated: 2015-07-15
Packaged: 2018-01-11 11:43:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 50,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1172663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amycat8733/pseuds/Amycat8733
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the wake of the changes left by a rogue lightning bolt, an encounter with a piece of Ancient tech gone awry is just the beginning of even more problems on the eve of John and Teyla’s wedding.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prequel

**Author's Note:**

> This is the direct sequel to Lightning Strikes. Thanks to Nacimynom and Mysra for their beta on this work. Thanks also to Firedew, Kickstand75, Alicesandra and Kariesue for their suggestions and support. And thanks to all of you that have read, commented or left kudos. They are all much appreciated.

Colonel John Sheppard dreaded staff meetings, especially when Woolsey received a new packet from the IOA. He had actually been looking forward to this one, though, because he and Teyla were finally going to announce the date for their wedding. The betting pools gained momentum when they started dating and the action picked up after they moved in together. He checked his watch and groaned inwardly when he saw the time. The meeting should have been over an hour ago, which meant that Lorne had taken his place in running the new arrivals through Pegasus 101.

All of the department heads had already delivered their reports. The problem was one of the new scientists, Dr. Carl Dieter, who had arrived three weeks ago. He was a specialist in dead languages, but also had a degree in information security systems. Currently, he was expounding on the virtues of using biometric scanners to replace passwords.

Finally, John decided enough was enough. Even thinking about the wonder of seeing his child on the Ancient ultrasound from Teyla’s checkup yesterday could no longer keep him calm. Thank god her morning sickness had finally tapered off.  He cleared his throat and sat up straight. “Excuse me, Dr. Dieter, but biometric scanners are a security risk here. Replicators can make a perfect copy of a person and a Wraith would just rip your hand off and use it. Plus, biometric scanners can be beaten with a set of fingerprints, a sheet of heavy plastic, an Exacto knife and gelatin.”

The young man’s face turned red and he opened his mouth to reply when Rodney cut him off.

“Don’t even start trying to impugn his credentials, you’ll only embarrass yourself.”

John picked up the thread. “We use passwords because they can be changed or locked out easily. It’s kind of hard to change your palm print or retina patterns. Now, as Military Commander of this city and the person in charge of its security, I suggest that you read through the reports on the Wraith and the replicators, and revise your suggestions.” John narrowed his eyes at Dieter. “At that time, you are welcome to submit them to me and I will then decide if they should be presented to the rest of the staff.”

Woolsey cleared his throat. “Thank you, Dr. Dieter, for your suggestions. When you have revised them we would be glad to consider them.”

Fuming with embarrassment, Dieter gathered his laptop and notes and stormed out the door.

Woolsey glanced around the room at his nearly comatose staff. “Well, unless there is any other business then this meeting is concluded.”

John stood and Teyla rose with him. “Actually, there is.”

Woolsey nodded. “Alright Colonel, go ahead.”

“Teyla and I have finally set the date for our wedding. It will be in four months on May First.”

The room erupted as everyone gathered to tender their congratulations to the couple.

After everyone separated, Radek asked one of the important questions. “What kind of ceremony have you decided on?”

John glanced down at Teyla. Their eyes met for a moment then Teyla nodded before answering. “We have decided to have an Earth-style civil ceremony and incorporate portions of the traditional Athosian Unity ceremony into it.

Woolsey looked around. “Anything else?”

John reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a flash drive. “Yeah, please send this to the SGC with the next batch of reports.”

Woolsey cocked his head slightly in question as he took the drive.

“It’s part of our guest list and some things we’ll need for the wedding.”

Woolsey nodded. “Ah, yes. Will there be many coming from Earth?”

John raised a hand and wiggled it back and forth. “Eh, only twelve if they all decide to attend.” He waved at the drive in Woolsey’s hand. “It’s all on there.” With that, John placed a hand on Teyla’s back, guiding her from the room, Rodney right behind them. Ronon fell in from his position outside the conference room where he’d been waiting for the last hour. John glanced over his shoulder at the other two men. “I know I don’t have to ask if the two of you are hungry, and I know Teyla and I are, so let’s get some lunch.”

Ronon nodded. “Sounds good.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

In his office, Woolsey loaded the contents of the flash drive into his computer. He looked over the list, noticing most of the names were not unexpected. A couple were surprising, but he noticed one that, in his opinion, should have been there but wasn’t. He typed a quick memo to General O’Neill about the missing person and planted the suggestion. It would now be up to the General if that person got an invite or not.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Still fuming late that evening as he paced along one of Atlantis’ lower corridors, Carl Dieter was stopped by a bulky figure stepping from the shadows.

“Excuse me.” Dieter spat out as he shifted to go around the other person.

A hand snaked out, halting his progress. “Hey, doc, I was looking for you. Name’s Brody, and I think we can help each other with a mutual goal.”

“Oh, and what goal would you and I have in common, hmmm?” Dieter sneered.

“Getting Colonel Sheppard to pay for his crimes.”

Shocked at the other man’s bluntness, Dieter was speechless for a moment. “How do you know I won’t try for brownie points and report you?”

Brody chuckled. “Because, after this morning, I’m sure you’d like to see the guy taken down a few pegs.”

Dieter was on guard. “How do you know about this morning?”

“One of my bunkmates talked about your tests with the palm readers, plus I looked up the agenda for this morning’s meeting. The notes are usually confidential, but the event calendar isn’t.” Brody looked around the area as if expecting the Colonel or one of the majors to pop out in surprise. “After that, I traded for guard duty in the Gate Room and made sure I stood where I could see the doors. The expression on your face told me all I needed to know and here we are.”

Dieter put his hand to his chin in thought. “Very well, let’s go somewhere and talk.”

Brody slapped Dieter on the back so hard the slight linguist almost fell. “I like you doc. With my plan and your smarts, we can pull this off.”

 

 

 

 


	2. Same Stuff, Different Day

_AN: This chapter contains references to “Dog Days” by kashkow._

Generally, John liked finding new devices left behind by the Ancients. What he didn’t like was that the finding wasn’t always in his best interest. He had lost count of the times that a piece of innocuous looking Ancient technology had bit him in the ass. Rodney had been behind many of those, but sometimes it had been a villager with a grudge or a whacked-out AI with abandonment issues. All of these things had combined to make him extremely gun shy. 

Take this new lab, for instance. It was in one of the recently opened areas of Atlantis itself, but the city could tell him nothing about the room’s purpose, and that worried him. Ever since the lightning strike that had enhanced his bond with the city, he had pretty much been able to avoid getting clobbered by the carelessness of the Ancients. For such an enlightened people, they had been extremely unconcerned about cleaning up after themselves and frequently left dangerous items just lying around; plus their documentation standards sucked.

Every so often though, they came across a lab that Atlantis only had minimal information about, but what they did have pointed to some kind of medical lab. That lack of information had led to where he was now. Rodney insisted on checking it out immediately, and somehow convinced Carson to come along. Maybe the Scottish doctor was bored and wanted a bit of adventure. 

He had agreed to escort Carson and Rodney to check out this lab because of the unknowns and in order to escape for a bit from the wedding preparations. The wedding was in less than a month and most of the details were set, but every so often someone had a brainstorm or brain fart, depending on one’s opinion of the idea which had to be dealt with. He didn’t mind being asked his opinion, but some of the ideas were so ridiculous that they had plucked just about every nerve he had, and, since he couldn’t shoot the offenders, he decided the best thing to do was to make himself scarce.

Behind him, Carson and Rodney argued about the merits of cats versus dogs while they waited for the database to download. Carson leaned on the console while McKay held his tablet in both hands, poking it occasionally to keep it moving. Used to the bickering from the pair, John tuned them out as he scanned the room. The room was pretty bare; the console behind him and several protrusions extending from the ceiling the entirety of the room’s equipment.

As he waited on the translation, Rodney argued with Carson. “I tell you, cats are superior. They don’t have to be walked, are quiet and will curl up on your lap when it’s cold.”

Carson shook his head. “Nay, dogs are better. A dog will greet you at the door and bark to warn you if someone strange approaches and protect you if you’re being threatened.”

Rodney huffed. “Yeah, if they’ve been trained, and if the intruder doesn’t have a nice juicy steak or a bone.”

Carson thumped his hand down on the console, setting off a faint hum that neither man noticed. “Ye’re a daft bugger! I still say dogs are better.”

Rodney tossed his tablet down. “Cats are better. When was the last time a dog caught a mouse or a cricket?”

“Yer crazy. Dogs are man’s best friend. Cats are fickle - that’s why they’re associated with luck.”

Rodney laughed and planted his hand on the console for balance. The hum rose in pitch. “If dogs are so great then why is the lion considered to be King of the Beasts?”

John noticed the hum. Each time it rose, the hair on his neck stood up straighter. He turned towards Carson and Rodney. “Hey, guys, I think the two of you need to step away from that console and we all need to leave the room, quickly.”

Just as he headed to the side to chase Carson and Rodney out, there was a bright flash – everything went white. It was blinding. The pain from the flash was nothing compared to the wave of pain that followed it as his body grew hot, as if on fire. John never felt his body hit the floor; the pain consumed all conscious thought as he felt like he was melting, bones and muscles twisting and reshaping themselves. He screamed as the pain rose. When the agony finally swallowed his consciousness, he welcomed the darkness.

Rodney and Carson looked up at Sheppard just as the flash exploded. The whiteness swallowed everything except sound. The hum that neither man had noticed became pervasive, squelching all other sounds, except for one – an agonized scream, torn from a human throat. That was the last thing they heard before the darkness took them as well.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

As he slowly came awake, the first thing Rodney noticed was that he was lying on the floor. The second thing that intruded was a headache. Then it sounded as if someone was pumping a bellows near his ear. Rodney turned his head and saw Carson, out cold and breathing heavily. He carefully rolled over, taking his time in order to allow his head to settle. As he got on his knees, he realized that another piece of crappy Ancient tech had messed with them. The only thing left to discover was just how badly screwed they were. Standing, he braced himself on the edge of the console and looked around. Carson lay on the floor near his feet, but there was no sign of Sheppard.

Rodney stepped away from the console to check the corridor in case Sheppard had staggered out through the door. Before he passed out, Rodney had distinctly heard a scream, one he knew all too well as it still haunted his nightmares occasionally. As he stepped around the console, his foot encountered something yielding. He looked down and saw a huddled black form on the floor. Rodney quickly stepped back around the console and nudged Carson in the ribs with his toe. “Carson! Wake up, you witch doctor! Sheppard’s hurt and needs you!”

Mention of their friend being hurt and needing him roused Carson as much as the ungentle touch from Rodney’s boot. He grabbed Rodney’s offered hand and the pair of doctors moved around the console to check on their friend. As they stepped to his side, both men noticed that the dark mass on the floor didn’t look right. As the form moved slightly, they realized why – instead of a six foot tall, spiky haired pilot, they now had a black furred, ten foot long tiger, lying tangled in the pieces of a black uniform.

Rodney and Carson looked up, matching looks of horror on their faces. “He’s gonna kill us – we did it again.”

Rodney looked from the tiger on the floor to the man standing beside him. “We? Where do you get this we business? I’m not the person that turned him into a dog that time, or that almost turned him into a bug.”

“No, but yer hand was on that console as surely as my own was. That makes ye just as guilty.” Carson shook himself and knelt at John’s side. He carefully ran his hands through the thick fur, removing the uniform as he went. “Well, no broken bones and no bleeding, so I’m guessing he’s unconscious from the transformation. Do we still have Dr. Tao here?”

Rodney shook his head. “No. After the incident with Sheppard as a Cairn terrier, he transferred back to the SGC. We do have a team of vets on staff now though. They go to our various trade partners, checking on the health of the animals before they are slaughtered.” Rodney reached for his radio then stopped as a thought crossed his mind. “Do you want to examine him here or in the infirmary?”

“We’ll have to do it here.” Carson sighed. “I hate to say it, but I don’t have a gurney that will hold him in his current form and I don’t think the lad would appreciate us treatin’ him as cargo an’ using one o’ the pallet jacks.”

“McKay to Dr. Liang.”

“Liang here, what may I do for you?” Liang was a petite Chinese woman that could intimidate anyone with just a look. 

“I need you to bring your kit and come to B5, room 14. I…we have a patient for you.”

“I will be right there. Liang out.”

Rodney walked over and sat down against a wall where he could watch Sheppard and the door. He had to admit, the Colonel made a very handsome tiger. His coat was mostly black, with dark grey and cream stripes mixed in. It was thick, reminiscent of a Siberian tiger he had seen at the Toronto Zoo. He figured that Carson’s estimate of size was correct. From nose to tail, John the tiger would be 3.35 meters long, about one meter tall at the shoulder and probably weigh in at 193 kilograms.

A noise at the door heralded the arrival of Dr. Liang. The diminutive doctor stepped in through the door, saw the tiger and stopped. “ _Panthera tigris altaica negra_.” The Latin flowed from the doctor’s lips as she stared at the colonel.

McKay nodded. “Yes, yes. It’s…He’s a black Siberian tiger. Now would you please check Colonel Sheppard over so we can get out of here?”

Liang frowned. “Colonel Sheppard?” She looked at the great cat. “You are telling me that this cat is Colonel Sheppard?”

Beckett nodded. “Aye, he is, and no, this is not a joke.”

With that pronouncement, Liang got to work. She peeled back his eyelids, pried open his jaws to check his tongue, gums and teeth, ran her hands over each limb, checking for breaks that Carson may have missed, and even carefully prodded his belly. She ran her hands through the thick fur picked up one of his forefeet and even pressed in on the pad to extend the claws. As she performed her exam, Carson and Rodney told her what had happened. At one point, Liang pulled out a tape measure and took body measurements. She checked his temperature, a portion of the exam that Carson was glad John slept through. When Dr. Tao had tried that the time John had been turned into a dog, it had ended badly for the doctor.

Dr. Liang sat back on her heels. “Well, the Colonel is a very healthy tiger. He will also be very grumpy when he wakes and should be fed as soon as possible. From what you have told me, he will have a headache. You can give him Codeine or Ketoprofen, depending on severity.”

Carson nodded. “I have Codeine in my bag. You can give it to him when he wakes.”

Liang shook her head. “I feel it would be better coming from you. He does not know me and you have his trust.”

As she finished, John stirred, the claws flexing out from the plate-sized front paws. His jaws opened in a yawn, showing teeth as long as Rodney’s pinky finger and a tongue long enough to wrap around his hand. As the jaws closed, John’s eyes opened, displaying the human’s hazel orbs instead of a tiger’s normal pale green.

 


	3. Burning Bright

Noise was what intruded first. There were so many different sounds and it was making his head pound worse. His sense of touch returned next as he noticed that he was lying on the floor. Other sensations intruded next – strong smells and a heaviness of his body that he had never felt before. He twitched his arms and legs, noticing that they didn’t move quite right, but the sensations were familiar. A yawn escaped when he stretched in preparation to get off the floor. His jaws felt like they opened a lot wider than normal, but again the sensation felt natural. 

With a bit of effort, he opened his eyes and found himself looking at a cratered surface. He frowned and moved his head back, blinking. His vision refocused to show that what he thought was a cratered surface was one of the walls to the lab. He turned his head. Three sets of eyes watched him – Rodney, Carson and Dr. Liang, one of the city’s two veterinarians. Dr. Liang’s presence bothered him and he wondered why she was here. That’s when it hit him why some of the odd sensations felt familiar. He looked at himself to confirm his suspicion. He had been transformed again, just this time, instead of a bug (ugh) or a dog, he was a tiger.

John stood and the trio of watchers grew still. His attention focused on Carson and Rodney, he stepped forward, letting out a string of heartfelt curses which emanated as a rumbling growl from deep in his chest. Suddenly, Dr. Liang scooted forward and bowed before him. “Honored Colonel, do not be mad at them. It was an accident. Do not stain your paws with their blood, oh great one. They will change you back.”

When Su Lin Liang placed herself in his path, John stopped. As she spoke, he listened to her and let his anger trickle away, although he would have to come up with a suitable revenge. Maybe he’d claw up Rodney’s favorite shirts and Carson’s as well or shed all over their quarters. He had time, he’d come up with something. He reached up and scrubbed his face with his hand – paw, then lay down to make himself comfortable.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

As John woke, Carson and Rodney stayed still. Dr. Liang was so still that she could have been a statue. They watched as John’s realization of his condition crossed his features. Carson had thought that, as a dog, Sheppard had been very expressive, but Sheppard the dog had nothing on Sheppard the tiger. Tail twitching, ears laid back, brows lowered and lips pulled back just a little, John focused on his two friends and growled, the deep growl expressing without a doubt his feelings on the situation.

Listening to Liang, Rodney almost burst out laughing. Sheppard’s temper in these situations was always dicey and he seemed to be responding to Liang’s words, although if she kept calling him ‘great one’ they’d probably have to deflate the Colonel’s ego to get him out of the room.

A beep sounded from the console – the database was finished downloading. Rodney scrambled up and dashed over, happy to escape being mauled, to pick up his tablet and John’s .45. Carson grabbed his bag and the remains of John’s clothes. The chain of Sheppard’s dog tags was busted so he stuffed them in his pocket. The foursome headed out the door. 

As they moved back to the populated sections, Rodney said. “We need to call Lorne and Woolsey. We don’t want any trigger-happy Marines trying to bag Colonel Tiger here, and Woolsey needs to know.”

Carson sighed as John rumbled his agreement. “Aye, although I wouldn’t tell Woolsey over the open channel.” Carson reached up and tapped his radio. “Beckett to Major Lorne.”

Lorne’s drawl came back. _“Lorne here, what did you two do to my CO now?”_

Rodney tapped into the channel as well. “Who says we did anything?”

 _“He left here in your company.”_ Lorne’s reply was a bit acerbic. _“That you’re calling me instead of him tells me something happened.”_

At that moment, John chuffed softly and said, _‘That’s it, give ‘em hell, Lorne’._ It came out as a softgrowl that the sensitive radios picked up. 

Silence followed the growl before Lorne responded _. “Unless Atlantis now has a zoo, I’d say that Colonel Sheppard just ratted the two of you out.”_

“Yes, yes and no, Atlantis doesn’t have a zoo. Sheppard is currently a Siberian tiger.” Rodney was getting frustrated. “Can you have a squad of Marines meet us as escort at Junction C5?”

 _“No, Doc.”_ Lorne sounded amused. _“I’ll bring them myself after I make sure none are allergic to cats. Lorne out.”_

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

As Lorne got off the radio, he stepped out of the watch office and looked out across the ready room, scanning faces. “Rodriguez, Brenner, Johnston, Walker, I need the four of you.” The four Marines quickly presented themselves. Corporals Brenner and Rodriguez were devoted to the Colonel as was Sergeant Johnston, while Gunny Walker had a steady head and had grown up on a farm. “Are any of you allergic to cats?”

The four were confused by Lorne’s unusual question. _Cats? In Atlantis?_ They all shook their heads ‘no’. 

Johnston asked the question on their minds. “Sir, has something happened to the Colonel again?”

Lorne let out a deep sigh and nodded. “They found another Ancient transformation lab. The Colonel is currently a Siberian tiger.”

Rodriguez whistled softly as he nudged Brenner. “Hey, Broki, did you know that the Siberian tiger is the third largest land predator, behind the Polar bear and Brown bear?”

The others, including Lorne shook their heads. Lorne smiled. “At least this time the Colonel won’t have to worry about gawkers in the Gateroom.” At the questioning looks from the Marines, he told them of the incident where Sheppard had been transformed into a Cairn terrier.

The Marines smiled as they imagined the Colonel then and the Colonel now. Nope, no gawkers this time.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

John was getting impatient. Rodney and Carson had both insisted that he wait for an escort. He didn’t feel it was necessary, but gave in. As they had walked back, he could feel the power and grace in the tiger body. He couldn’t wait to go for a run, especially in the catwalk area. When they reached the junction, Rodney and Carson sat down to wait. John paced over and patted Carson’s bag then looked at the Scottish doctor.

Carson looked at John. “Do you need somethin’ lad?”

John nodded and patted the bag again, brushing a paw over his face. He distinctly remembered hearing Dr. Liang tell Carson that he could have Codeine for his headache.

Carson sighed. “I’m sorry, John. I’m no good at reading cats.”

John turned to Rodney and repeated the movements. 

Rodney watched John’s movements. “He wants something for his headache, Carson.” He turned to John. “Right?”

John nodded. He knew Rodney would understand. Man, he’d be glad when Teyla got back so she could relay for him. 

Carson quickly dug out the Codeine bottle and shook two pills out in his hand. John had no intention of licking Carson’s hand so he stuck his tongue out, cupping it to catch the tablets. Carson dropped the pills onto John’s tongue, which was quickly withdrawn and the pills swallowed. Rodney pulled out a water bottle and uncapped it, John tilting his head back so Rodney could pour the cool water into John’s mouth. After Rodney put the bottle away, John butted him softly with his nose _‘Thanks_ ’.

Rodney laughed softly. “You’re welcome.” He hesitated then reached for the area between John’s ears. John guessed what Rodney had in mind and allowed the touch. Rodney cautiously dug his fingers into the thick fur, reveling in the softness. As Rodney scratched, John laid down, head between him and Carson. As Rodney moved to the area behind the ears, John closed his eyes and gave a rumbling purr; the caresses were helping to ease his headache. Seeing John let Rodney touch, Carson gingerly reached out and started stroking the dark furred back. 

They sat like that for several minutes until John raised his head then suddenly jumped up, spinning to face the corridor ahead. Rodney and Carson figured that they should get up as well. It was an interesting trio that met Lorne and the Marines. Sheppard was sitting in the middle of the corridor, poised and regal looking. Carson and Rodney stood to either side of the Colonel.

As they came upon the trio, Lorne and the Marines stared at the two doctors flanking the magnificent tiger. They all knew that the Colonel had been changed into a tiger. What they hadn’t known was that he was a black tiger. After a heartbeat’s hesitation, Lorne stepped forward to speak to his CO.

“Colonel, you ok?”

John nodded. It was at times like this that he was glad for Lorne - very little disturbed the man. John looked at Lorne then the Marines, tilting his head in an obvious question.

Lorne understood the question. His mom had cats when he was growing up. “They’re here as escort so someone doesn’t shoot you.”

John grumbled. _‘They better not’_ was understood.

Lorne nodded. “I know, but it doesn’t hurt to be careful.” 

Rodney blinked, his jaw dropping in surprise. “You understand him?”

Lorne turned slightly to face Rodney. “You sound surprised. Did you think you were the only cat person in the city? My Mom had cats, plus I’ve been his XO for four years. I’d like to think I’ve learned a bit about how his mind works in all that time.” Shifting again to include Carson in his field of vision, he asked a pertinent question. “So what did you tell Woolsey?”

“We told him that we found an interesting lab and that we needed to talk to him.” Rodney was fidgeting.

Lorne calmly looked at McKay. “So Mr. Woolsey doesn’t know that the two of you turned our military commander into a tiger?”

Carson shook his head. “No.”

“Well, this ought to be interesting.” Lorne looked at the mixed group, lips curling in a small smile. Sheppard hadn’t moved. “With your permission, sir?” At Sheppard’s nod, Lorne turned to his squad. “Johnston, Walker, take the front; Corporals, on our six. Let’s go.” 

The group headed out with Lorne and Rodney walking to either side of Sheppard, Carson behind Rodney.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Richard Woolsey was in the conference room waiting for Colonel Sheppard and Doctors McKay and Beckett, when he started sneezing. He heard a commotion in the Gateroom and turned. Just as he faced the doors, he sneezed several more times in a row. As he wiped his nose, he looked up. Standing in between the louvered doors were four Marines, Major Lorne, Dr. Beckett, Dr. McKay and a … black tiger.

“Major, what is the … _ah, ah, achoo_ … meaning of this?” Woolsey wiped his nose with a handkerchief. “Where is Colonel Sheppard and … _achoo_ … why is there a cat in my conference room?”

Lorne grimaced. “That’s what we need to talk about.”

Woolsey motioned them to chairs. Lorne, Beckett and McKay took their usual seats. The four Marines took up station outside the louvers as the doors closed. He was surprised when the tiger hopped up and sat in Sheppard’s usual chair.

“Now, would someone… _achoo_ … tell me… _achoo_ …where the Colonel is?”

McKay gestured at the tiger. “He’s right there.”

“This is a joke, right?” Woolsey looked around as if suspecting Sheppard to spring out and yell ‘boo’.

“Mr. Woolsey, I assure ye that this is no joke. Both Rodney and I were present. This,” and Carson pointed at John the tiger, “is Colonel Sheppard.” Carson then reached over and pulled John’s dog tags out of his pocket for Woolsey to see, laying them on the table in front of him. Lorne reached over and retrieved John’s dog tags; removed his own and used the combined chains to fashion one long enough to fit around the Colonel’s neck. The two doctors then proceeded to explain what had happened.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

John was bored. Sitting in the conference room listening to Carson and Rodney explain to Woolsey what happened was no more fun than it had been the first time around. Thankfully, at least Lorne had needed no convincing. His head still hurt, he was hungry and he wanted to go take a nap.

Just as he was about to yawn in Woolsey’s face and show off his impressive set of teeth, he heard the Gate activate. 

_*”Lantis, where is that Gate from?”*_

_*“It is from MP-3455 – Proxima.”*_

Proxima – that was where Teyla and Ronon had gated to a few days ago on a trading mission with Major Waters.

John was up and through the doors in a flash of black fur. Pausing behind a column, he noticed that Teyla had just stepped through the event horizon, Ronon a step behind, Waters and his team bringing up the rear. _*“Teyla!”*_

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Teyla was glad to be heading home. Dealing with the Proximans was always trying. They were very formal when it came to trading. After their first trading mission with them, John had described them as OCD. After he had explained the term, Teyla had most definitely agreed with his assessment. The Proximans also feared anyone with the Ancient gene; they had discovered and cultivated a flower that produced pollen that the Ancients were highly allergic to, which meant that neither John nor Evan could safely go there. Those with the gene therapy could go because the plants did not react to the artificial gene. The first time they went, John had ended up in the infirmary for a week with a severe allergic reaction. Teyla hated being separated from him for any long length of time, but at least they only had to travel to Proxima four times a year.

After she stepped through the Gate in Atlantis, Teyla paused, looking for John. Whenever they were separated, he usually tried to meet her in the Gateroom if he was in the city and not in the infirmary. She heard the splut behind her as Ronon passed through, followed a moment later by Major Waters and his team. She had just turned to hand her P90 to the armory sergeant when she heard John call her name.

_*”Teyla!”*_

She turned her head and caught sight of a black flash headed towards her. Just as she turned to meet the fast moving blur, Ronon’s pistol flashed and dropped the creature in its tracks. At the same time, a shout rang out from the upper gallery. 

**“Don’t shoot!”**

 


	4. Disclosure

**“Don’t shoot!”**

The shout rang out as the creature crumpled to the floor. Teyla looked up at the gallery to see Lorne, Carson and Rodney standing there with horrified expressions on their faces.

“Major, what is wrong? What is this creature?” The looks on their faces had Teyla worried. “Where is John?”

Lorne took a deep breath. “That is a tiger, and Colonel Sheppard is …”

Teyla missed the rest of what Lorne started to say. She glanced down at the creature that Lorne called a tiger and spotted something glinting in its fur. Moving cautiously due to her expanded girth, she knelt by the tiger and grasped the silver item. As she pulled the item from the dark fur, she realized what she was seeing. It was John’s dog tags. She felt Ronon kneel beside her and she tilted the metallic rectangles so he could see them too. With John’s tags in her hand, Teyla stared up at the balcony, hoping for any of the gathered crowd to contradict what she saw before her.

Seeing the question in her eyes, Rodney shook his head as she watched him move down the stairs. “It’s him.” He looked at Ronon. “I hope that thing was set to stun.”

Ronon nodded. “Yeah, it is.”

Rodney breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank god. Next time, don’t be so quick to fire, Conan.”

Ronon looked up at Rodney. “Next time it could be you I’m protecting. Sheppard will understand.”

Lorne called for one of the cargo floaters and some blankets. Carson knelt to check on John.

“Well, the lad’s alright, but I’d like to get him to the infirmary. The observation room will be the best place.” The Scot was worried because he had no idea how the stun would affect the Colonel’s changed physiology.

The floater arrived and several Marines were drafted into helping to shift John onto the pallet. Once he was secure, Lorne and his team formed up around the floater, with Gunny Walker taking charge of the controls. They moved out with Carson and Teyla riding on the pallet with John, Ronon and Rodney following along. Teyla, concerned over John’s condition, decided to wait until after Carson examined him to find out what had occurred.

Along the way, Carson called Dr. Liang and asked her to meet them in the infirmary observation room. She was waiting when they arrived. Walker settled the floater to the floor, making sure to lock the controls for safety. Liang checked John over again and assured them that he would be fine. She gave Carson a list of human medicines that tigers could metabolize safely. Carson found a stronger painkiller on the list that John wasn’t allergic to and injected it. He had given John Codeine earlier but he knew it had only taken the edge off the Colonel’s headache. Carson also checked him over with the portable scanner, which gave back some interesting results.

Teyla stayed by John’s head throughout the entire exam, running her hands through his thick fur. She stayed silent, waiting for the doctors to finish.

“Carson, what happened? Why is John a tiger?”

Carson and Rodney looked at each other then took turns telling the tale while Carson did their post-mission checks.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Waking was quite an experience. When his body didn’t move quite right, John froze until memory caught up. The myriad of smells told him where he was. The combined scents of antiseptic and lemon pine-sol were enough to make his nose burn and his whiskers twitch. He felt a hand combing through his fur and recognized Teyla’s scent. Using his connection to Atlantis, he thought the lights down a bit before he opened his eyes.

_*“Teyla?”*_

“Yes, John. How are you feeling?”

_*”Like I got stunned.”*_

“Ronon is very sorry. Your appearance startled us and he fired in response.”

He could smell the regret in Teyla’s words. _*”It’s alright. I’d rather get stunned than him be slow and hesitate. Hesitation could get one of us killed.”*_

At that moment Carson came in. “Ach, I see yer awake, lad. How are ye feelin’?”

_*”Pins and needles with a bit of a headache and I’m really hungry.”*_

Teyla relayed John’s account to Carson.

“Well, lad, the tingling will wear off in a bit. I’ll get ye somethin’ for the headache. Dr. Liang checked you out again an’ said everything is fine.”

_*”Thanks, Carson.”*_

While Carson was gone, Teyla told John of their trip to Proxima.

When the good doctor came back, he quickly injected the promised pain killer. “I checked you over with the portable scanner, Colonel. Your DNA is an interesting mix of tiger and human. Your ATA gene is intact and it seems that your digestive system is more human than cat, but Dr. Liang suggests, and I concur, that you stick with foods that are cat friendly. Now, off with ye and go get somethin’ to eat. That’s probably contributing to your headache. Dr. Liang said to feed you after you woke up the first time then things happened.”

_*”Yeah. Thanks again, Doc.”*_

With that John stretched and stood, and with Teyla by his side they headed for the mess hall. They met Ronon along the way and there was no question as to the big Satedan joining them. Being able to eat any time he wanted had been a big plus in his decision to stay in Atlantis.

John was glad that it was late in Atlantis’ dinner time. It meant that his sharper senses weren’t being assaulted by all of the smells and noise. He did stop just inside the door to sort out the myriad smells that were reaching his nose.

“John?”

Teyla’s concern penetrated the cloud of smells. John shook himself and the trio strolled into the mess hall. There were not many folks around. The military personnel nodded their heads at their CO without interrupting their meals. Among the scientists, reaction was split. Some nodded while others stared. John returned the nods while ignoring the stares.

The mess hall staff had been warned of John’s change and had food ready for him. Even though tigers were mainly carnivores, they would eat things other than meat. One of the staff carried the bowls to the team’s usual table. A wide bench had already been placed at the table for John to use as a seat.

John looked at the contents of the dishes while Teyla and Ronon got their dinners. Medium rare steak was not what he would normally eat, but the tiger’s instincts made him salivate at the food. There was also a bowl filled with chunks of whole grain ciabatta bread, another of mixed vegetables and a third one of water. He was famished and started eating without waiting for the others. Ronon and Teyla joined him and dug in. Ronon had questions, which John answered through Teyla. Rodney joined them when John was finishing. John cleaned his muzzle then proceeded to wash his face. After a few moments, John felt eyes on him. He stopped grooming and looked up to see Rodney watching him.

“That is fascinating. How did you know to do that, Sheppard?”

John cocked his head at him, considering the question. He shrugged, which came through even with the differences in body shape.

_*”Instinct, I guess.”*_

While Teyla passed the comment along, John felt other eyes on him and turned his head. Some of the scientists from the biology department were seated a few tables away, taking notes and gesturing excitedly. Noticing that they were being observed made a few of them bold and they stood up, scanners in hand to approach their subject. Seeing this, John spun to face them, teeth bared, black tipped tail lashing in agitation. The biologists stopped, looking at each other for a moment before they decided that discretion was better than valor. They left in a hurry. John let out a soft growl and glared at the rest of the table’s occupants. The table emptied quickly. The occupants of some of the other tables had stopped to observe the proceedings. John passed his green gaze over the rest of the tables and normal activities resumed.

Another of the mess staff came over with a cart. He set down a bowl after picking up the empties. John titled his head up and cocked an eyebrow.

“Sir, Sergeant Chavez spoke with Dr. Liang to find out what you could eat. She remembered how much trouble you had the last time you were changed. She modified a few recipes so you could eat normal food. This is her cat-friendly version of pineapple upside-down cake and the Sarge would like to know how she did.”

 _*”Dinner was great. I’m not partial to rare_ _meat_ _, but it was good.”*_

Teyla relayed John’s comments while John gave the cake a sniff. It smelled delicious. He bit into it; the flavors melted in his mouth. He didn’t know how Liang and Chavez had modified the cake, but it was tasty.

“Well, I guess that answers the Sarge’s question.”

He stuck his muzzle back in the bowl and proceeded to clean it. The chuckle from the corporal standing at his side was echoed by his team. The corporal left for a moment and returned with a dish of milk and the rest of the cake. John lapped up some of the chilled milk, interspersing it with bites of cake until even the crumbs were gone.

The corporal chuckled again. “Anything else I can get you, sir?”

John shook his head no. The young man cleared the dishes before he headed off. John cleaned his muzzle again and waited for his team to finish eating. He lay down, shifting to a more comfortable lounging position while he waited. Rodney updated them on his progress in reversing the change.

“We can change you back. The device was another Ancient attempt at finding a shortcut to Ascension. We think they were trying to get in touch with nature by experiencing it as an animal. Normally, it seems the user would choose their desired form, activate the device and step into the emitter. This time it took the shape from my mind. It seems that Carson and I activated it during our discussion and you happened to be standing under the emitters. It does have a reverse setting. Unfortunately, there is some damage due to neglect that will take a while to repair. We also need new crystals. Several of the ones in the machine developed cracks, so Zelenka is looking through the spares. We may need to go to Praxis if we don’t have them here.”

 _*“I’m glad. This is nice, but it does make some things a bit difficult.”*_ The image he sent Teyla made her blush slightly. _*“I wonder how Torren will take this?”*_

“I do not know. Do you want to come with me, or do you want me to tell him before he sees you?”

_*”Tell him first. That way he can decide if he wants to stay with Aleeah or us.”*_

Teyla ruffled the fur behind his ears before heading off to see her son. Rodney and Ronon decided to accompany John back to the family’s quarters.

Along the way, John did some thinking. The grooming he had done was okay, but he really wanted a bath. The problem was that the shower in their suite was not large enough for him to get a good one in his current form.

_“I have been working on that for you, my son. I will assist in any way I can to help you change back. As to your cleanliness, I have solved that problem for you. I believe that you and your mate will like what I have done.”_

_*”I’m sure we will. Thanks, Lantis.”*_

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Once they arrived on their floor, Ronon and Rodney headed to their own quarters while John proceeded to his and Teyla’s. Teyla was waiting for him just inside. He could smell her excitement.

“Torren has decided to stay with us tonight.” Teyla was smiling. “He is quite thrilled about this.”

 _*“Well, I’m just glad that he’s not scared of me.”*_ John chuffed as he looked up at her, tail flicking idly. _*“You know I’ll be real careful with him.”*_

Teyla nodded and kneeled awkwardly to be at his level. “You could not be anything but. I know that you shall not let anything untoward happen to him. Come, I have something to show you.”

Teyla slowly walked deeper into their quarters, John following her. She led him to a formerly blank section of wall that now opened into the rooms on the other side. It appeared that the room was originally used as a small gymnasium. As soon as he crossed the threshold, John caught the scent of water… a lot of water. Moving ahead of Teyla, he followed the scent and found himself looking at a small pool. Faucets sprouted from one end of the pool. When he leaned over the steaming, crystal clear water, he saw submerged jets— the pool could be used as a Jacuzzi. He glanced over and saw that Teyla was undressing.

_*“Teyla? What… how…?”*_

Without pausing, Teyla answered the question she sensed he was trying to ask. “When I returned earlier, I noticed the changes. It seems that Atlantis knows how fastidious you are and decided to assist you.”

 _*“Ah, Lantis, so this is what you were referring to_ _.”*_

_*“Yes, my son. I told you I would assist you and this is well within my capabilities. The facility was already here, I merely opened the wall to allow you private access. I have also modified the exterior. The door, and its control panel, still exist, but are now hidden from all but the most determined seekers. I have also altered other facilities for your use during this time.”*_

_*“Thank you, Lantis. We appreciate this.”*_

John stepped into the pool. The steps leading down were deep enough for his broad paws. The water was perfect for bathing and relaxing. Once fully in the tub, John took a deep breath and submerged. After he planted his paws on the bottom of the pool, he shook himself slightly; just enough to loosen the individual strands of his fur and allow the water to flow through to his skin. He surfaced next to Teyla. She held a bottle of his favorite shampoo in her hands.

“I consulted with Dr. Liang. She said this is safe to use to bathe you.”

John’s chuckle came out as a soft chuff. _*“Glad to know that my favorite brand is pet-friendly.”*_

After he climbed out of the pool, Teyla proceeded to liberally pour shampoo on him. He stood patiently by her stool as she lathered the shampoo into his coat. It felt so good when she dug in, her fingers working through the thick fur to reach his skin that he arched his back and unconsciously started purring.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Teyla was a bit startled when John’s back arched, a deep rumble issuing from his chest. His eyes were closed and there was a look of contentment on his feline features. The look was matched by the feelings of bliss that she sensed from him. As she continued to scrub him, she marveled at the dense muscles she could feel through the fur. She realized that the animal John now wore the shape of must be a powerful hunter, a feeling reinforced when she saw his sharp claws. Each one was the size of her smallest finger.

After she had him completely lathered, she nudged him back into the tub. She climbed in with him and rinsed the soap from his fur, the water flow carrying the suds, dirt and loose hair out of the pool.

_*“Mmmm… god, Teyla, that felt incredible. I love it when you run your hands through my hair, but that felt so good that if I was in my own shape, you’d be in trouble.”*_

Teyla smiled coyly. “Well, once Rodney returns you to your proper form, we shall have to endeavor to find a way to duplicate that sensation.”

John turned to face her, reared up slightly and placed his paws on her shoulders, the water making it easy to keep most of his weight off her. He bowed his head at the correct angle for the Athosian greeting. She placed her hands on his back and bowed her head in response. They stayed in that pose for a few moments then John pulled back and flicked his tongue from her chin, along her jaw to her forehead several times.

She laughed at the roughness of his tongue. “John! That tickles!”

His mind voice filled with mischief, John continued licking her even as he answered her. _*“Well, I can’t kiss you right now, so I get to lick you instead. I’ve always wanted to do this, but in my dreams, I’m licking caramel or chocolate off of you.”*_

Teyla smiled coyly. “Well, after Rodney changes you back, we shall also see about making that dream come true.”

John’s eyes grew wide in his tiger face then he nuzzled her neck. He chuffed softly as he tickled her with his whiskers.

They romped in the pool for a bit before climbing out, the water lent her an agility that she lacked on land due to her advanced pregnancy. John waited for Teyla to step out of the pool room before he shook the water out of his fur. She walked back in, wrapped in a towel and gently squeezed more of the water out of his fur. She stepped back as he activated the room’s drying jets. The streams of hot air removed the water from his thick fur quicker than a stack of towels, plus it fluffed his fur.

Torren met them in the main room of the suite; Aleeah had just dropped him off. John stopped several feet away in case Torren had changed his mind, but the toddler ran over and threw his arms around John’s neck.

“Da! You play with me!”

John was relieved that Torren wasn’t afraid of him. Making sure to keep his claws sheathed, he batted the boy around as they wrestled. When they got tired of wrestling, John allowed Torren to climb onto his back for a few laps around the room. While they were wrestling, Teyla had taken some photos. She also took a few of Torren riding John. With a last bit of mischief, John reared up to his full height then ducked his head and shoulders. The sudden movement caused Torren to flip over his head. John neatly caught his collar in his powerful jaws and lowered the boy to the floor, Torren crowed in delight. Torren sat down on the rug and, clapped his hands as John collapsed to the floor, panting.

 

 

 

 


	5. Playing

Corporal Chris Ragland was new to Atlantis, having come in on the Hammond’s last trip.  The more experienced Marines and Airmen greeted the pair then went about their business. He had only been in Atlantis for a week when the Colonel and Major Lorne had interviewed him. When he announced that he wanted to be on a gate team, Sheppard had said, “you don’t have enough combat experience.”

“What?” Ragland had been stunned.

The Colonel continued, ignoring Ragland’s outburst. “Your tour in Afghanistan was spent protecting convoys and you saw very little actual combat. Since being picked for the SGC, you went on twelve offworld missions, but you only saw combat on two. For the time being, you will be training and on guard duty. When the Major and I feel that you are ready, you will start going offworld. Pegasus is an entirely new ballgame. Facing a few Goa’uld and renegade Jaffa does not prepare you for facing Wraith.” 

Ragland was about to protest but Sheppard held up a hand, steel in his gaze. “Before you say it, the Wraith are down, not out. Do not forget that. Their numbers are decreasing, but they are not extinct yet. Dismissed, Marine.”

Since then, Ragland was spending a lot of time in the gym and on guard duty as was customary for new arrivals, especially those that had not been assigned to a Gate team. 

He had just finished a workout session under Lorne’s supervision when Sheppard and Teyla walked into the gym. Ragland, on the other hand, was still feeling put out. 

It made him mad to see the Colonel walk around the city as a tiger, still performing his duties, with Teyla beside him. As the pair strolled by, he elbowed his bunkmate, Corporal Ruiz.

“Hey, Ruiz. I see the Colonel’s pussy has got herself a pussy. I wonder if she lets him fuck her or just lick her …”

Whatever else he was going to say got cut off when a heavy black figure tackled him and pinned him to the floor. He was stunned for a few moments. Opening his eyes, he found himself looking into the eyes of a growling, pissed off tiger.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Teyla was eager to begin their workout. John had initially protested until Carson reminded him that exercise would make her labor easier. It would be interesting to practice her moves against an opponent that could move so fluidly. John was quite graceful as a human, but as a tiger, he was grace personified. She could see why tigers were so revered on his homeworld. She noticed and acknowledged the greetings sent their way by the assembled soldiers of John’s command. She had worked with many of them over the years. 

John’s sudden movement pulled her from her reverie. She was shocked to see him pounce upon one of the young Marines, batting him around several times before he pinned him to the floor. She clearly heard him growl at the hapless Marine, but she also heard his words through their bond. She had to stifle a smile as she realized that he was chewing the offender out for something he had said.

Lorne and several other Marines hurried over as if they expected to have to wrestle the Colonel off of the young Marine.  Teyla put her hand out to stop them. “The Marine is not in danger. The Colonel is lecturing him for unacceptable behavior. I believe he said something derogatory.”

Johnston stifled a laugh. “Huh, heard of getting your ass chewed out by your CO, but this adds a whole new dimension.”

Without taking his eyes from the tableau, Lorne asked Teyla what Sheppard was telling the Marine.

Teyla relayed John’s words. “The Colonel is saying _‘Marine, you are a disgrace to that uniform. Behavior of that nature is unacceptable. That kind of comment belongs in an outhouse, not in the mouth of a highly trained soldier. Comments of that nature are considered sexual harassment and will not be tolerated. You will report to Dr. Friedricks tomorrow for cleaning detail. I believe he is overseeing the cleanup in sub level 4 this week.’_ ” Teyla looked at the group surrounding her and saw the collective winces. Sub level 4 was one of the worst of the flooded levels, having only recently been drained of water by the construction bots.

John turned to Lorne and Teyla continued to relay his words. _*”Put this man on report for conduct unbecoming. He made derogatory comments concerning mine and Teyla’s sexual preferences. He is a disgrace. He is to serve on the punishment detail until he can be transferred back to Earth.”*_

Lorne winced and asked his CO a question that he obviously didn’t want to. “Sir, I need to know his exact words for the report.”

Lorne turned his gaze to Teyla. She felt the heat rise in her cheeks when John relayed the comments and explained why they were so offensive.

She leaned toward Lorne and whispered in his ear.

Lorne looked at the marine lying on the floor. “Get up and be grateful that the Colonel didn’t take your fool head off.” His look of disgust was eloquent. “I would have, and” he nodded at Teyla “she still could. You are on punishment duty until you are transferred back to Earth where you will face a disciplinary board for your conduct. When you are not on duty, you are confined to quarters except for meals and PT. Dismissed.”

After the unpleasantness was over, Teyla and John enjoyed their sparring. Even at almost six months, Teyla’s movements were still graceful even if she was slower. While Teyla took a break, Johnston came over in the padded suit that they used when training the scientists in self-defense. 

John perked up when he saw Johnston wearing the suit. Teyla watched John while the big Marine set himself. John had his back feet tucked under himself, back bunched and tail twitching slightly. He sprang in a lightning fast move. He landed on Johnston, riding him to the floor. His front claws latched into the suit and the back claws dug in. Johnston grappled with him as they rolled around on the floor. The other soldiers gathered to watch the pair and made bets as to who would come out on top. The contest was decided when John modified a Special Forces combat move and flipped Johnston over his head with a spine-bending twist before he draped himself over his chest.

She and the soldiers laughed when Johnston tapped out. After John rose off him, he gave the big Marine a friendly head butt before pacing to the bench where she sat. Next to her, she had set out a deep bowl filled with water. John lapped the water up, drinking the bowl almost dry.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Even though John was currently a tiger, life didn’t stop. Before his transformation, his team had been scheduled to do a survey of a new planet. This planet was rather out of the way, spatially speaking, which made it unattractive to the Wraith as a potential feeding ground. The _Hammond_ had discovered it during a stop to run a planetary survey. Sam had ordered a quick scan run and discovered that the planet had a Stargate. A team beamed down and discovered the DHD was damaged, which had caused the Gate system to shunt the address to inactive. A few weeks later, the Daedalus delivered a jumper carrying a science team with Marine escorts from Atlantis.

Due to Woolsey’s allergy, John couldn’t attend the briefing. He would have to rely on Teyla to relay everything. Padding to the balcony, John curled up in the sun on a nest of blankets Teyla had placed there for him to lie upon. Intent on staying awake, John’s eyes were slipping closed when the door chimed. He raised his head and sniffed the air, catching a strong scent of garlic, oregano and spicy kimchee just as the outer door opened to admit Rodney and Radek.

Radek spoke as they walked onto the balcony. “Colonel, I have modified one of the transceivers to fit your ears and hearing sensitivity so you can stay in the loop. It is set to the command channel and is always on.” He held up the small radio. “May I?” At John’s nod, Radek carefully placed the earpiece in his ear. John flicked his ears a few times then shook his head to insure that the device would stay put.

John looked at Rodney, curious as to why he came. Radek was one of the people with access to the tower, so he didn’t need Rodney to bring him.

“That’s all very well, but I’d rather you had spent the time helping me turn him human again.” Rodney puffed out. 

“It did not take much time and I knew Colonel would appreciate not feeling cut off.” Radek removed his glasses and cleaned them as he spoke. “I know how I would feel and we all know how independent the Colonel is, is correct?”

Rodney stared for a moment then threw his hands up in disgust. “Yes, yes, fine, it didn’t take much time to do, and he feels better now.” He lowered his arms. “Is there … um, anything … you need, since Teyla’s not here?”

John nodded then padded to the kitchen and stopped by a big bowl resting on the floor.

“You want your water bowl filled? Dammit Sheppard, I’m an astrophysicist, not a cat whisperer!” His outburst didn’t stop Rodney from filling the bowl.

After a deep drink, John ambled over and gently head-butted the two scientists as a thank you. Rodney reached down and scratched behind John’s ears. After a moment’s hesitation, Radek stuck his hand down and scrunched his fingers in the fur on John’s head.

“Very soft. I thought tiger fur would be somewhat coarse.”

John’s rumbling purr echoed in the small kitchen before being interrupted by his comm.

“Dr. McKay, Dr. Zelenka, the meeting starts in ten minutes.”

Rodney tapped his comm. “Yes, thank you so much. Would you like to do a countdown for us, too?”

Amelia’s voice came back with a bit of an edge. “Well, I can always not follow Colonel Sheppard’s standing orders next time and let you miss the briefing altogether. And let you explain it to him.”

“Fine, we’ll be there shortly.” He looked down at John who was staring back, his hazel eyes fitting in the tiger face. “Standing orders to remind me of briefings?”

John stared at him, a faint growl issuing from his chest. _Be nice._

“Fine, fine. Show up just as one briefing is ending and you never hear the end of it.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Woolsey listened to Teyla’s recounting of Colonel Sheppards thoughts. Glad the man, or better said tiger, had decided to stay away. This way the briefing concerning the mission to P7X-1447 aka Nervis was at least tolerable. His nose still itched from his allergy, but he could hardly tell his entire command staff to make sure they were free of tiger hair before meeting him. 

His thoughts came back to Nervis. The planet was nicely forested but also had lots of open areas as well. The recon team found evidence of prior inhabitants, but nothing recent. A return trip was being made because the planet boasted an Ancient outpost. They had decided to send three teams – Lorne’s, Stackhouse’s and Sheppard’s.

Woolsey and Carson had agreed that it would be best to keep Colonel Sheppard in the city, before the meeting. Now he was confronted with arguing the reasons to the attending members of the away team.  

“He has to come.”

His attention focused on Ronon as it seemed that the until this moment quiet member of the Colonel’s team had enough of remaining quiet. He wondered if more than a ‘He has to come.’ statement would get past the Satedan’s lips. 

“Sheppard needs to get out of the city. He needs to feel grass under his feet and sunshine on his skin. Plus, having a predator of our own could be a good thing. We’ve been practicing and even I can’t sneak up on him.”

Woolsey couldn’t help cringe at the truth in the words. He was speechless for a moment at the amount of words the Satedan had managed to use.

Seeing an opening, Lorne charged in. “He’s right, sir. The Colonel being a tiger is not going to be a hindrance. Tigers do have better senses.”

Rodney dealt the final blow. “Plus, we can keep in touch with him through Teyla and with the radio Zelenka modified for him. We can even set it on VOX so we can hear him.”

Woolsey was silent as he considered everything said. “Very well, but I want Dr. Beckett to go along as a precaution.”

Lorne nodded, relieved that they wouldn’t have to fight harder. “That’s acceptable, sir. Thank you.”

Woolsey smiled just a tiny bit. “You’re welcome, Major. Get your people together. You leave in one hour.”

 


	6. Head Games

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Nacimynom and Mysra for their beta and to the girls in the SG friends group. You are all lovely people with beautiful souls.
> 
> As a warning, this chapter is a bit graphic. You have been warned.

John moved a few paces away from the Stargate as the rest of the group made the transit. Stackhouse and his team had already spread out, setting up a perimeter as a precaution. The trip to the outpost took two hours. Once there, it took both Rodney and John to get the door open. Lorne tried, as did Carson, but the outpost refused to recognize anyone else’s gene but John’s. Once he initialized the systems, John went back outside.

After prowling the perimeter and marking the territory a few times, John found a tree that had grown at an angle that made a perfect scratching post. Stretching to his full length, he dug his claws in, pulling and kneading until they were smooth and sharp again. He went back inside at Rodney’s request to check out some rooms with him. After lunch, he went for a run with Ronon. They were on their way back to the outpost when a sharp, musky scent reached John’s nose. He stopped, turning with the wind to pinpoint where the scent was coming from. Ronon had jogged a bit ahead before he realized John was no longer with him.

“Something wrong?”

John ignored him as he worked to sort out the scents. When he finally pinned the direction of the scent, he let out a deep growl and the fur on his neck stood up as he took off at a fast lope.

Reading John’s signals, Ronon pulled a knife and tapped his radio in the danger signal. He didn’t speak because he didn’t want to warn whatever had John on edge. 

The sharp retorts of gunfire echoed through the trees. John didn’t know what kind of animal it was, but there were several of them and they were hunting his people. They stopped at the edge of the tree line to assess the situation. A huge pack of dog-like creatures were gathered in front of the door. They looked like greyhounds without the floppy ears but with a sleek, narrow head and were a mottled greenish-brown.  One larger specimen lounged alone on the other side of the clearing. 

_*“Teyla, are you okay?”*_

_*“Yes, John, I am well as is everyone else. There are a few injuries but nothing serious.”*_ Teyla answered him through their bond.

_*“I’m going to challenge the pack leader. Let everyone know. When his pack starts to move, take them down.”*_

_*“We will, John. Be careful.”*_

John glanced around and spotted a tree with a large exposed branch. He was downwind of the dog-things so he didn’t have to worry about them scenting him and their attention was focused on the humans inside the outpost. Sporadic gunfire rang out, frequently followed by a yelp from one of the dog-things. Several lay dead near the building, but the rest were using the rocks strewn about the clearing as cover.

Ronon followed John to the tree and climbed it behind him. If he did what Ronon thought he was going to, which was challenge the leader then he would become a target for the rest of the pack. Up the tree, they couldn’t swarm him and pull him down.

 _“Colonel, we have you and Ronon spotted.”_ Lorne’s voice whispered in his ear. _“Teyla told us your plan. Stackhouse’s team is going to focus on the area between the rocks and your position.”_

John could hear the faint echo from Ronon’s transceiver so he gave the Satedan a nod which Ronon relayed to Lorne.

Once Ronon was settled, John paced out as far as he dared along the branch, braced himself and roared. As the deep bass sounded through the clearing, the dog-things stilled and every head turned his direction.  He roared a second time, challenge unmistakable in the ringing tone and, when no answering howl sounded, the rest of the pack turned to look at their leader and several moved towards him.

The leader of the pack was a bit larger than the rest, sleekly muscled and well-fed. Most of the pack showed a bit of gauntness except for those that had moved towards the alpha male. While not as sleek, they were obviously well-fed. The alpha rose to his feet and yawned before looking for the upstart that dared to disturb him. Sighting John on the tree limb, the alpha let loose an answering howl that sounded like “oh, well, since you insist on this I’ll humor you”. The lackadaisical howl irritated John for a moment until he reined it in and put it to use.

With the alpha standing, it was easier to evaluate it. They were close to equal height although John had the edge in length. Even though the dog-thing was shorter in length, it was broad-chested, well-muscled and probably close to John’s weight.

John roared a third time which was immediately answered by the alpha, and the rest of the pack moved back leaving a clear space in the center. Lorne and the rest of his people would wait until the fight started to start picking the pack off. John took his time coming down from the tree and sat down at the edge of the cleared area then proceeded to wash his paw. The alpha, enraged to be so taunted by a strange creature, came off his perch and charged towards John.

Even while appearing uncaring, John was observing his opponent. To reach his position, the alpha would have to leap over a cluster of rocks. He timed his speed and, at just the right moment, sprang into action, catching the alpha mid-leap and bowling him over. A loud yelp sounded as the alpha was surprised.  John crouched, watching to see what the other would do. The alpha stood, staggered and shook himself. When he tried to plant his feet, he let out a soft whimper when his front left wouldn’t completely bear his weight. He stared at John and bared his teeth. John let out a snarl, his own teeth showing in a display of ivory glory.

Once more the two charged, John quickly gaining the upper hand. The dog-thing had never faced anything like him and was unsure how to cope. Thick fur protected John’s throat as they rolled in the grass, his claws digging in and leaving long, bloody scores along the creature’s flanks and belly. The dog-thing dug in its feet and managed to fling John loose. It was bleeding profusely, but was still standing firm and defiant. Rather than weakening it, the blood seemed to be enraging it. One of the pack edged close and the alpha turned and struck, grabbing the hapless lackey by the front leg and biting hard. The creature’s cry of pain was only a bit louder than the snap of bone.

The leader turned back to John and the nearest pack members tore the luckless hound to pieces. Letting out a howl, the alpha charged John. John went into a crouch and rolled with the alpha’s charge, tangling them together in a bundle of fur, claws and teeth. Back feet scrabbling against the leader’s belly, John hooked one of the earlier wounds and dug in, a hot rush of blood telling of a serious wound.

Feeling itself weakening, the alpha renewed its efforts to shake John loose or to get him in a position where he could use his powerful jaws. John was making sure that didn’t happen. He had some minor wounds where the canid’s claws had found their way through his fur. After a particularly wild tumble, the alpha tried to stand, but the injured leg gave way. Seeing his chance, John knocked the creature over and pinned it before he deliberately lowered his head and ripped its throat out. Hot blood splashed his muzzle and neck as the veins parted, the creature’s thrashing sending a shower of blood across John’s black fur.

He planted one huge foot upon the leader’s corpse and roared his triumph. He could feel Teyla’s relief but it was dim under the smell of blood. Peering around, John noted other puddles of gore along the edges that marked areas where Lorne and the sharpshooters had been busy with silenced P-90’s. 

Several of the pack betas looked at each other then let out howls of their own and charged.  The whine of Ronon’s blaster joined the staccato reports of gunfire as chaos broke out and John disappeared under several canids.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Woolsey was enjoying an afternoon cup of tea when the Stargate came to life.

“Unscheduled off-world activation.”

He set his cup aside and headed for the command area. “Which team is it?”

One of the new Gate technicians, Technical Sergeant Kristan Hardy, checked the IDC. “It’s Major Lorne’s IDC, Sir.” She opened the radio channel.

“Atlantis, this is Lorne. We are coming home.”

Woolsey nodded. “The Shield is down, Major. Do you need medical?”

Lorne was silent for a moment. “We have a few minor injuries, but everyone is ambulatory and can make it to the infirmary.”

“Come on home, Major.”

The wormhole rippled as the first travelers emerged. Stackhouse and his team came through, they were all splashed with blood and Carson was supporting a limping Corporal Linton, bandages wrapped around his calf and thigh. Lorne’s team came next. The three of them were also blood spattered but they were moving with no apparent injuries.

With all the blood, Woolsey was curious as to what they encountered.

McKay was the next to appear. He was clean of blood, but he was wild-eyed and looked a bit green.

Lorne followed on his heels. He looked around and gestured at the SO’s on Gate duty. They quickly moved everyone back from the Gate. Woolsey looked on in curiosity, but figured the Major had a reason and he would find out soon enough.

One last ripple announced the last three travelers. Ronon and Teyla flanked Colonel Sheppard as he came through the Gate. An odd sound was coming from the trio and Woolsey realized that the Colonel was growling softly. His black fur was standing on end, his tail puffed out to twice its size and he was liberally splattered with blood.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Even though a call for medical had not gone out, the corridor between the Gateroom and the infirmary had magically cleared. Teyla was grateful that there were no bystanders. John was keeping a tight rein on his emotions, but she was catching overspill and he was still on edge. The fight against the canids had been brutal. After he took down the leader, the rest of the pack fell into chaos. She had feared for John’s safety for a time when she lost sight of him in the melee. 

They walked into the infirmary where Carson was waiting for them with two of his nurses, Emily Harmston and Kari Lemor.

“Teyla, love, you and the Colonel head to the showers.” He pointed to the back of the infirmary. “These two lovely lasses are gonna help ya bathe the Colonel.”

Teyla started to protest, but Carson held up a hand. “I know what yer gonna say, and I know you did it the other day, but that was in a pool, not a shower. You can help, but from a stool. I am not gonna be responsible for any harm comin’ to you or the wee bairn.”

Carson’s words hit home and she agreed. A nudge to her leg had her looking down at John, who was nodding his agreement. “Very well, I know when I have lost a fight.” She smiled at Carson as she leaned over and scratched behind John’s ears heedless of the blood that covered him. 

Kari gave her a nudge. “Come on. You can help me get the supplies.”

Emily nodded. “We’re gonna need lots of towels.”

It took Teyla, Kari and Emily almost an hour to get the blood out of John’s fur. As he grew cleaner, they discovered a lot of small nicks and cuts that started leaking blood as the scabs came loose due to the vigorous scrubbing. Halfway through, his stomach started to grumble. Feeling a sudden urge to cough, John shook loose from Teyla and the two nurses and moved away several feet just in time. He hunched down and started gagging. After a few tense minutes, he gave a mighty heave and coughed up the contents of his stomach.

Kari waved her hand in front of her to drive away the smell. “Ewww, that is terrible.”

John looked up, a contrite expression on his face. He started back towards them when another coughing spell hit. He turned and added to the first puddle. Head down, he ambled over to Teyla and the nurses and brushed against each of them.

Emily grimaced slightly and looked down at John. “Colonel, you’re a nice guy, but wet fur is not sexy.”

Kari and Teyla laughed while John turned his back to them, his wounded pride wrapped around him. He padded over to the shower heads and thought three of them on. Teyla and the two nurses had removed the blood from his fur and were in the process of giving him a good scrubbing. He set the showerheads to pulsate and twisted and turned beneath them.

As he moved under the water, Teyla noticed that some of it was still tinged pale pink. She picked up one of the brushes they’d been using and went back to work on John. Kari and Emily joined her and they soon had him clean. While they dried him off, they all found more spots that were seeping blood.

Carson was waiting as the quartet exited the bathroom. Emily ducked back in to get samples of the gunk John had coughed up. To make it easy on John, Carson had placed two of the exam beds together and set a few of the metal shipping cases next to them to form a set of steps. As tired as he was, John appreciated the gesture and thanked Carson with a gentle head butt.

John fell asleep while Carson was performing his exam. He roused just enough to roll over at Carson’s prodding then went back to sleep.

Woolsey walked in just as Carson was checking on the rest of the troop. “Doctor, how is everyone?”

Carson glanced down at the tablet in his hands. “Well, Corporal Linton has a nasty bite in his leg, but it’s been cleaned, stitched and bandaged. The lad will be off duty for the next three days and, barring complications, will be on light duty for a few weeks until that leg heals. Colonel Sheppard has quite the collection of cuts and claw marks underneath that fur. Everyone else just ended up with minor scratches and cuts.”

Woolsey looked concerned. “Was that the source of all the blood that he was covered in?”

Carson shook his head. “Nah, I daresay that was the blood o’ his opponents. My Mum’s barn cats were like that. They’d come home smeared in blood, but hardly any of it were theirs.”

They paused about six feet away from the Colonel’s corner.  John was curled on the two beds Carson had put together for him, head resting on his forelegs. Teyla was resting on another. Two trays, one empty, one full, sat on a nearby table. A deep bowl of water sat nearby.

“The Colonel fell asleep during his exam and I haven’t the heart to wake him. From past experience, he’ll wake soon, eat and go back to sleep.”

Almost on cue, John shifted and stretched, his claws flexed out and his eyes opened. He let out a yawn that showed off his impressive dentition then stood. Moving gingerly, he climbed from the bed and padded off to the bathroom after a detour by Teyla’s bed to check on her. He was gone only a few minutes when he came back and made his way to the table. After giving Woolsey and Carson a nod in greeting, he reared up to his full height and started eating the meal that was left for him. The two men stood and watched, fascinated as John managed to clear the dishes even with the awkward angles. It was only as he climbed back onto his bed that Carson realized that he should have offered to set the bowls lower. John turned a few circles then laid back down, legs stretched out, head resting on one of his front legs with his long tail trailing from the bed.

Carson motioned over his shoulder and he and Woolsey walked away from the pair.

Woolsey took a step towards the door. “Thank you, doctor. You and your staff have taken excellent care of everyone.”

Carson beamed. “Well, it’s right proud I am of all my lads and lasses. They do an excellent job even under tryin’ circumstances.”

Woolsey tugged his jacket straight. “Then I shall leave you to it, Doctor.”

Carson looped by John’s corner to check on him one last time. Both he and Teyla were still sound asleep. Smiling, he headed to his office to catch up on his paperwork. He planned to release the Colonel in the morning. Without him in the infirmary, maybe his staff could enjoy a bit of peace and quiet. 

 

 


	7. Obstacles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to Nacimynom and Mysra for betaing this monster. And the girls in SG friends. You know who you are and I love you all :)

Carson did release him the next morning with instructions to take it easy. John lounged in the sun and let his body recover. Teyla, Ronon and Rodney kept him company as well as making sure he ate. Rodney showed up five times that day, each time with a heavily loaded tray or basket. He said it was because he was hungry and was hiding from his staff so he could get some work done, but John knew the truth – he just wanted to make sure his friend was okay.

Ronon met him the next morning for their run. Mindful of his still-healing cuts, John stretched while Ronon did his warm-ups. Once they started, Ronon took off at his usual pace while John just loped along. In his tiger form, he had no problem keeping up with Ronon, unlike the rest of the time where he was always playing catch-up or Ronon would slow down so John could keep up.

When they reached the upper areas and catwalks, John cut loose, bounding and leaping from catwalk to supports and having a great time. After working off some of his excess energy, Ronon was ready to finish their route so John fell in beside him. He remembered chasing Ronon down during his time as a dog, and that he almost hurt him. That was one reason he was glad he could keep up with Ronon instead of running behind him – it made controlling the cat instincts easier.

Near the end of their run, they came to the area where the indoor obstacle course was set up. John and Ronon slowed to watch the new troops navigating the course. 

Lorne noticed the pair and jogged to meet them. Giving John a casual nod as the pair stopped, Lorne gestured at the troops. “Sir, come to observe the new troops?”

John glanced over at the new troopers. Some were walking around while others had dropped to the benches along the back wall. Cocking his head slightly, John looked at the troops then at Lorne.

Understanding the silent question, Lorne grimaced slightly. “They’re doing alright. They are up to military standards but not up to yours.” He looked over at the milling soldiers and a small smile crossed his features. “Care to show them how it’s done?”

John looked up at Ronon, their eyes meeting. An eyebrow arch, tilt of the head and a shrug followed by a pair of nods was the entirety of their conversation.

Lorne stood and watched the silent communication. It was eerie to watch, but it also showed how tight the bond was between the members of Sheppard’s team. At the matching nods, Lorne turned to the gathered troops and whistled. “Alright, listen up! By military standards, your performance was acceptable, but you have to be better to survive out here. Now, Colonel Sheppard and Ronon have agreed to demonstrate how it should be done.”

“But, the Colonel’s a cat right now!” An anonymous trooper called out from the back. “That’s an unfair advantage!” 

Lorne shook his head. “No, it’s not. This course was designed for humans. There are portions that will be very difficult for a large cat.”

At Lorne’s signal, the pair started off. The first obstacle was a field of crisscrossing wires. Ronon passed them easily, but John had to be cautious because of the difference in his feet and the height of his back. After that, they crawled under electrified barb wire. The static made John’s fur stand on end, and he had to be careful because a cat’s body wasn’t designed to slither. The hardest obstacles were the rope swing and the climbing wall. Ronon made them easily, but for John they presented difficulties. Making a leap, he caught one of the ropes in his jaws and used his momentum to swing across. Once he reached the drop off point, he let go, did a mid-air flip and landed on his feet. With the wall, he backed up, got a running start and climbed the wall like it was a tree, his claws digging in for purchase. After that, the rest was fairly easy.

Arriving back at the starting point, John flopped to the ground, panting from the exertion. Lorne motioned and Johnston stepped forward with a bowl of water, setting it in front of the grateful Colonel.

“Now that, gentlemen, is how you do an obstacle course. You overcome your disadvantages and turn them into advantages.” Lorne drawled as he paced. “Now, you all have an appointment on the firing range. Dismissed!”

After he troops trickled out, Lorne turned to John. “After you finish your run, we need to go over the duty roster, the leave requests, and the Mission Reports. I’ve temporarily taken over Rec Room 2 so we can use the big screen. I’ve also ordered lunch for us.”

John nodded in agreement then they headed off to finish their run. Outside John and Teyla’s quarters, Ronon turned to head off. “That was fun.”

John chuffed in agreement before thinking the door open and entering. Once inside, John headed for the pool. He couldn’t use soap, but he could clean up. After his bath, he padded out onto the balcony and lay down in the sun, closing his eyes as he stretched out. It seemed that he had barely closed his eyes when the door chime sounded. A glance at the clock told him that it had been nearly an hour. Rising, he padded into the living room and thought the door open, revealing Rodney and Radek on the other side. He tilted his head in a silent question as he experienced a moment of déjà vu at seeing the pair.

“We’ve got the crystals replaced. We just need to check the circuitry then we’ll be able to change you back.”

John looked at Rodney and tilted his head in question. When Rodney just stared at him, John heaved a deep sigh then reached out and drew a circle on the floor and started tapping with his extended claws.

Rodney shook his head. “I’m sorry but I don’t understand what you’re asking.”

Radek looked at John and thought about his actions. “Ah! Colonel, you wish to know when?”

John nodded and stopped tapping.

Radek pushed his glasses up. “It will take us two days to check circuits.”

John nodded again. Reaching out, he contacted Teyla through their bond and asked her to meet him in Rec Room 2. She and Lorne both needed to hear this.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Brody tapped on the door before slipping into Dieter’s lab. “How’s it coming, Doc?”

Dieter jumped, startled. “Brody, I did not see you.”

Brody leaned on the wall near the door. “Sorry, just walked in. I knocked, but I guess you didn’t hear it.” He looked around the lab. “Are we still on track?”

Dieter nodded. “Everything is progressing according to plan. You just need to keep your end of it.”

“I’ll be ready, Doc. Don’t worry about it.” Brody opened the door and slipped out. The only person that had anything to worry about was Colonel John Sheppard.  



	8. Take Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you are all enjoying my tale.
> 
> Thanks to Nacimynom and Mysra for their beta!

The morning of the trial, John was nervous. Even after running with Ronon, John couldn’t stay still. When Rodney called to say he was ready, John would have run the entire distance except Teyla wouldn’t have been able to keep up. Teyla was carrying a backpack with a change of clothes for John, as well as his weapons, watch and radio. Along the way they met up with Lorne who had Johnston, Rodriguez, Brenner and Walker with him.

Arriving at the lab, John paused on the threshold. He hadn’t been here since his transformation. He looked up as a soft hand stroked his head.

“Go on, John.” Teyla encouraged. “It will be alright.”

Taking a deep breath, John stepped through the doorway. Rodney and Carson were back in their original locations behind the console. It had been decided to recreate the day as close as possible. The only addition was Radek, who was in the corridor and off to one side monitoring the console. Carson and Rodney had already loaded John’s last completely healthy pre-change scan into the console in order to get the desired result. John took his place in front of the console and Carson and Rodney carried out the motions of their previous argument. As before, the hum intensified then the light flashed. Even though he was expecting it, the energy surge hurt. He let out a loud roar before unconsciousness claimed him.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

After the light faded and the loud hum ceased, Teyla peered around the door facing. She spotted Carson and Rodney rising from the shelter of the console as she searched for John. Rounding the console, she spotted the dark huddled mass of her fiancé on the floor, but something was not right. As her hand touched John to make him comfortable, she realized what was different. He still had fur. Turning, she pinned Carson and Rodney with an unhappy stare. “It did not work.”

The pair was still shaking off the side effects of the machine. They hadn’t been knocked unconscious, but it still rattled them. Rodney, his mind always in motion, was the first to recover.

“What do you mean it didn’t work?” Rodney moved to where he could see Teyla and John. “One head, two arms, two legs, black and grey fur…” His voice trailed off as he realized what he just said and turned to Carson. “We are so dead.”

Carson edged around Rodney to peer at the unmoving shape on the floor. “Ach, Rodney, ya said the settings were right!” He pointed at John. “That is not right!”

Rodney was turning, already calling for Radek as he moved towards the maintenance panel on the console’s face when a soft moan split the air.

“John?” Teyla’s voice was tinged with worry.

“Mmmm.”

“Colonel, are you awake?” Carson was all business now, thoughts of impending death pushed aside.

“Mmmm… M ‘wake.” John’s voice was rough.

“Lad, can ye open yer eyes for us?”

“Tryin’.” After a struggle, John managed to open his eyes a bit.

Carson ran his hands over John’s limbs, checking for injuries. “How do you feel, lad?”

John shrugged Carson off as he struggled to sit up. Teyla leaned over carefully, placing her hands behind his back and shoulders to support him. “Head hurts but everything else is fine, just a bit sore.” He looked around. “You guys alright?”

Teyla took his hand, clasping it between hers. “We are fine, John.”

John glanced around. “If you’re all fine and I’m fine then why do you all look so depressed?”

Carson looked away, suddenly finding his medical bag very interesting.

John looked at Teyla where she knelt beside him. “Teyla?” His drawl held a wealth of questions.

Teyla glanced down then up. “John, the procedure was … not a complete success.”

“What d’you mean?” He patted himself. “Two arms, two legs, claws, black …” His voice trailed off as Rodney’s had earlier. “McKay.” The growl in John’s voice was unmistakable. 

“I’m working on it! The settings were correct.” Rodney looked up. “You should be fully human right now, not impersonating Tygra’s cousin from _ThunderCats_.”

John thrust out a furred arm. “Does this look fully human to you? It sure as hell doesn’t to me!”

Teyla placed a calming hand on John’s shoulder. “Peace, my love. Rodney and Radek will fix this.”

John just growled, his eyes narrowed to slits. Suddenly, a wad of black cloth was shoved in front of him. John took it, unfolding it gingerly to find that it was a pair of BDUs. Turning slightly, he looked at Carson.

“I thought ye’d feel better with some clothes on.” The Scot coughed. “Your fur doesn’t hide as much as it did.”

John looked down his body and realized that the fur, while paler and slightly thinner on his chest and belly, provided sufficient coverage. The fur in other areas did not. Blushing hotly and thankful that his fur hid the blush, John scrambled into the pants, quickly buttoning them. The BDU were quickly followed by one of his black garrison shirts. The next item Carson handed over was a pair of boots. “Uh, doc, I don’t think those will fit.”

Carson looked down at John’s feet and realized he was right. Boots made for a human would definitely not fit on the elongated cat feet that John was currently sporting. “Ach! Sorry, lad. While Rodney an’ Radek sort this out, how ‘bout ye come to the infirmary so I can check ye over?” Carson patted John on one black clad and furred shoulder.

John growled. “Yeah, I guess.” He turned to Rodney. “Any ideas yet?”

“No, and if you keep bothering me it will take longer.” Rodney stuck a hand out from behind the console, making a shooing motion. “Now, go and run off to Carson’s voodoo kingdom so he can check you for hairballs.”

John narrowed his eyes and growled before letting Carson and Teyla coax him out the door, Lorne and the Marines falling in as escort. Walking through the corridors, John reached out to Atlantis. _*”Lantis, can you tell anything about the device?”*_

_*”Unfortunately, my sensors are limited in that room. However, I can tell that it will need new crystals.”*_

_*”Do we have them on hand?”*_

Lantis was silent for a moment. _*”Most. You will need to send the large brained one to Praxis for a new king crystal, though.”_

_*“Hmmm. I’ll let them know later.”*_

_*”John, there is something else.”*_ Lantis sounded nervous _. *”The device may not be fixable.”_

_*”Are you sure?”*_

_“No, but the possibility does exist.”_

John grimaced slightly. _“Well, I’ll deal with that when it gets here. No sense borrowing trouble.”_

Arriving at the infirmary, Carson steered John to an exam bed. John hoisted himself up, feet swinging with impatience. Carson glanced down and noticed John’s feet for the first time.

“Ach, lad, I completely forgot about yer boots.”

John glanced down, wiggling his toes. “Honestly doc, I don’t think they’d fit.” He stuck his leg out. Instead of a pink, human foot, there was a black and white furred, elongated cat’s foot.

“Hmmm, true.” Carson proceeded to give him a full physical, documenting the differences. “Well, lad, you’re much closer to human, obviously.

John chuffed. “Obviously.”

Carson continued. “There are still some cat traits, of course, but they will not interfere with your duties, although I’m sure Mr. Woolsey will still be allergic to ya.”

John grinned. “That just means that I won’t have to attend the morning staff meeting.”

Carson grinned, glad to see John in a good mood. “Ah, you cheeky bugger, off with ya an’ quit yer sheddin’ all over my infirmary.”

John hopped off the bed, stretched and shook himself head to toe, sending bits of fur flying. Carson swatted him on the shoulder and chased him out.

Outside the infirmary, Lorne and the Marines fell into step with John and Teyla.

“Where to, sir?” Lorne asked.

“I want some fresh air. I’m tired of being stared at.” John told them, his steps taking them to the nearest transporter.

Once outside, John strolled to the end of the pier and stopped, gazing out across the water, the ocean breeze ruffling his fur. Teyla sat quietly nearby, taking the opportunity to get off her feet, allowing him the privacy that she could feel he desperately needed.

Deciding to give his CO some space, Lorne motioned for the Marines to stay near the door. Their presence would serve to keep gawkers away. After a few minutes, he softly approached, nodding at Teyla as he passed her. “Sir, does McKay have an estimate as to when the device will be fixed?”

John shook his head. “No. All he said is that it will take as long as it takes.”

Lorne looked at the Marines then back at his boss. He was picking up an undercurrent of emotion that he knew Sheppard wouldn’t want to show in front of his troops. “Well, we’ll leave you to enjoy the sun, sir.” With that, he motioned to the escorting Marines, who made an about face and headed off.

After his men left, John continued to stare out across the water.

Rising from her perch, Teyla placed her arm around John’s waist, resting her cheek against his chest. She could tell something was bothering him. “John, what is troubling you?”

He was silent for so long, Teyla thought he might not have heard her.

“Lantis told me… that there’s a possibility… that the device may not be fixable.” His voice was barely above a whisper.

“Oh, John.” Teyla could see how this would bother him. “Have you checked with Rodney again yet?”

“No.” He shook himself, trying to get rid of the funk he was falling into. He turned and looked down at her. “What if this,” his voice grew loud as he waved a hand at himself, “is permanent?” He turned back towards the water. “I want to be your husband, not a… a… a science experiment.” His voice dropped to a whisper, shame and frustration coating his words.

Teyla stepped in front of him, taking his hands in hers. “John, you shall be my husband regardless of how you look.”

John stooped, bowing his head to hers. “Teyla.” He breathed out her name, filling it with caring and love. “What did I do to deserve you?”

At that moment his com chimed. Reaching up, he tapped it. “Sheppard.”

 _“Sheppard, we’re going to need to go to Praxis.”_ Rodney’s voice filled his ears. _“The device needs new crystals, and we don’t have the right ones in storage.”_

John sighed. “When do you want to go?”

_“Tomorrow. We should have the rest of the repairs done by then.”_

“Fine. See you in the Gate Room at 0900.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

After his early morning run with Ronon, and breakfast with Teyla and Torren, John was in the ready room early. He’d needed to be early so he had time to get his gear fitted right. Ronon sauntered in while John was adjusting the straps on his thigh holster. Once he was done with that, Ronon helped him adjust his tac vest. They were finished and pacing off nervous energy when Rodney and Radek arrived, along with Carson. John had argued that the doc didn’t need to come, but he and Woolsey insisted.

Stepping into the Gate Room, John noticed that there were quite a few gawkers, so he decided to take care of them. He climbed the stairs carefully, the shape of his feet making it a bit tricky. Reaching the Ops deck, he casually moved to the security console. Hand on the touchpad, he panned the cameras and captured the faces of everyone in the room. Between himself, Lorne, Rodney and Radek, they would figure out who should not have been there at that moment. He and Lorne would also be having words with the SOs on duty as they should have encouraged the gawkers to move along for their own safety.

Glancing down at the two scientists and Beckett, John had an idea. Raising his voice, he called out. “Gibson, Travis, Shoosmith, Coleman – front and center.”

The four soldiers – three Marines and an Airman, hung their heads and slowly walked up the stairs to the Gate Room. Reaching the top, they stopped in front of John and snapped to attention.

John stood in front of them for a moment, letting his displeasure roll over them. “Gentlemen, I happen to know that none of you are on Gate duty today, but that you do have places you’re supposed to be. Since you need direct supervision, I am assigning you as porters for the good doctors. Once we get back, we will have a discussion about following orders and what your punishment will be.”

The four winced simultaneously. Sheppard’s punishments were legendary. They went down the stairs at a funereal pace and headed for the three doctors.

“Rodney, Radek, Carson, give your packs over. These four have volunteered to be your porters for the trip.”

Stepping through the Gate to Praxis was unnerving until the lights came on fully. At first glance, it was like stepping through a space gate.

John could feel Praxis and Atlantis talking to each other, but it flowed over his mind like silk sliding across his skin. Stepping forward, he heard the soft _bloop_ of the others passing through the Gate.

_*“Welcome back John Sheppard. Atlantis has informed me of your needs. I have also completed my own scan of your physiology. I can provide you with the necessary crystals, but that option only carries a 43.86 percent chance of success.”*_

When Praxis paused, John huffed. “I know that. Do you have a better idea?”

_*“Yes, I do.”*_

John blinked in surprise at the Repository’s bluntness. He waved his hands in a ‘come on’ gesture, only marginally aware that Rodney, Carson, Ronon and Radek were eyeing him with a small amount of trepidation. “Well, come on, spit it out?”

_*“I can reverse the process for you.”*_

John was stunned. Praxis’ revelation had impacted him like a board to the skull. A hand on his shoulder broke him from the state of shock.

“Son, are you alright?” Concern poured from Carson.

John shook himself and let out a little laugh. “Alright? Hell, doc, right now I’m ecstatic.” He looked at all four of his friends. “Praxis just told me that she can reverse the transformation.”

“What! What the hell?” Rodney sputtered. “Why didn’t Atlantis tell us this? It would have saved me” at Radek’s growl he amended “us a lot of time.”

A shimmering in the air announced the formation of an avatar. Praxis appeared to them as a well-built woman with shoulder-length brown hair. Radek’s eyes widened as he took in her appearance. Casting around, he looked for the hologram emitters.

“You won’t find them, Doctor Zelenka.” Praxis informed the Czech with amusement. She then turned her amusement on Carson. “Doctor Beckett, I am sure that you have questions.” One of the transports appeared. “If you will all board the transport, I will guide you to the medical station where you can examine the equipment and where the procedure will take place.”

The group wasted no time in boarding the vehicle. John took the controls as he had previously and steered the vehicle along the path Praxis had lit. Entering the medical wing was startling. Praxis was built on the inside of a planet and her halls were carved from rock. The Gate Room was made of a black and brown banded rock similar to onyx. The hall leading to the ZPM cache varied from the black-brown combination to a pale tan flecked with rainbow colors. The passage to the medical wing was carved from a variegated red rock that shifted like tiger’s eye. The reds of the corridor made the pastels of the med area paler by contrast.

As John stopped, Praxis appeared again. “Doctors, this is the control area for the medical station. I have already uploaded John’s scan from his previous visit into the system. Once he enters the treatment area, the controller will take over and reverse the change. You will be able to monitor him from here.” She paused a moment as if listening to something. “The change will not be a quick process as the controller will check for any structural anomalies that the device may have caused.”

Carson frowned. “Structural anomalies?”

Praxis nodded. “Many of the devices the Alterans created in their quest for Ascension were not fully thought out and often created anomalies in the alleles of the test subject. The controller scans for the damage and corrects it.” She looked over at John. “They also found it best if the victim was sedated during treatment as the reversal can be painful.”

John reached up, carefully rubbing the back of his neck in an attempt to hide his nervousness. “Yeah, been there, done that, rather not do it again.” He turned, staring at the three doctors. “Are you still going to check it out?”

The trio shared a silent conversation before heading as one entity to the consoles.

“The equipment is in perfect working order.” Praxis almost sounded offended.

“Relax.” John murmured from beside her. “It’s been a rough few weeks, plus we’ve been bitten by bad technology too many times.”

Praxis cocked her head. “Ah, I understand. They are being cautious. They are concerned for you.”

John ducked his head, trying to hide his emotions. “Yeah, they are.”

While the doctors checked the equipment, John settled on the floor. He was restless and wanted to run, but he figured that if he started running that he’d never stop. He was scared, and that was a hard thing to admit. He was scared of getting his hopes up, scared that he was going to stay like this the rest of his life. 

“It’s okay to be scared, Sheppard.”

John glanced over as Ronon sat down beside him.

“I know you too well.” Ronon spoke softly so his voice wouldn’t carry. “Everything will turn out as it should.”

John started to speak, but Carson’s voice broke the moment.

“We’re ready for you, lad.”

John stood, unclipping his P90 and handing it to Ronon along with his .45. Shucking out of his tac vest, he handed it to Ronon as well.

“Um … boots and BDU’s as well, and … you need to put this on, Colonel.” Carson had the grace to blush lightly as he held out a shimmering white thong. “The controller spat this out with instructions for you to put it on before entering the preparation chamber.”

“Preparation chamber?” John’s drawl announced how little he liked the idea even as he was stripping off his clothes.

“Yes. The sequence indicates that you must be decontaminated and bathed before entering the main chamber.” Carson explained. “It’s to prevent infections and mutations.”

John growled as he swiped the tiny piece of clothing from Carson’s hand. “Fine. Where do I change?”

A door slid open to one side.

“Huh, guess that answers my question.” He entered the chamber clad only in his boxers. Just before the doors slid closed behind him, they flew out, landing at Carson’s feet. Carson leaned over, picked them up and handed them to Ronon who stuffed them into a backpack.

They waited anxiously while the controller followed its procedures. When John appeared in the main chamber, Carson felt a small sigh of relief and amusement escape. John’s fur was standing out on end, his ears back and eyes narrowed. If he’d had a tail, it would have been lashing furiously.

“Now, ya need to lie on the bed so the controller can get started.” Carson directed from the control room.

John climbed up and settled himself. As soon as he was still the lights dimmed and a pale blue fog slowly filled the room. They all watched as his eyes slid closed, his breathing deepening into the rhythm of sleep.

**:: Sequence commencing ::**

 


	9. Transformation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone reading this and thanks for the kudos.  
> Thanks to Nacimynom for taking the time from her projects to beta this and to Simply Supreme for her Genetics 101.  
> Any errors are mine alone. In regards to the science, I am not a doctor and this is fiction. However, if something is really off, please PM me.

It had been ten long hours since John entered the transformation chamber. The fog had thinned but not dissipated entirely. Rodney and Radek had busied themselves with some project files they’d brought with them. Ronon alternated between pacing and staring at John through the observation window. Over the intervening hours all of the fur had fallen out, leaving him completely hairless. His bone structure had shifted back to human normal and his hair had regrown. Carson was relieved at that because they all knew how touchy John was about his hair.

“How much longer?” Ronon growled out as he started pacing again.

“It will take as long as it takes.” Carson replied in an even tone. “Praxis said that the controller checks for damage at the molecular level. That means it’s going through and checking every allele in his DNA that could have been affected.”

It was another two hours before they were startled by the fog suddenly being vented from the room and the IV lines withdrawing from John’s arms.

“It will take several hours for the sedative to wear off, according to the controller,” Carson said, “and I’m sure the Colonel will be a wee bit more comfortable waking in my infirmary.”

Ronon snorted. “He’d be more comfortable waking in his own bed with Teyla.”

The four unlucky soldiers that had been shanghaied into being porters chuckled at that until Ronon turned and stared at them, his eyes promising them pain. They all immediately clammed up.

“Shoosmith, unfold the collapsible stretcher.” Ronon said gruffly. “Gibson, Travis, gather the packs. Porter, you’ll help Shoosmith carry Sheppard.”

The four men scrambled to obey. None of the troops on Atlantis gave Ronon any lip. Not only could he mop the floor with any one of them, John had also let it be known that Ronon’s rank of Specialist was equal to a Chief Master Sergeant in the Air Force or a Master Gunnery Sergeant in the Marines.

Shoosmith and Porter followed Carson and Ronon into the chamber. They and waited in silence while Carson checked their CO’s vitals. Then Ronon lifted John from the bed and gently placed him on the stretcher.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Teyla was usually a very patient person, but this experience had taxed her self-control. She had wanted to go with John, but Mr. Woolsey had requested her assistance with some treaties. Her anxiety had spiked when Carson had dialed in to inform them that Praxis was reversing the change. She had managed to push it aside after meditating, but it sprang to the forefront again when John was carried through the Stargate that evening.

Carson caught sight of Teyla, poised halfway down the Grand Staircase. “He’ll be alright, lass. The treatment was successful and he didna suffer. The lad is asleep right now. The medical controller administered a sedative to keep him unconscious during the procedure, just as I did while he was recovering from being a you-know-what five years ago.”

Teyla did know. She knew how much pain John had gone through during his transformation from bug to human and to cat and was glad that he had not suffered that pain again. She joined the group as they made their way to the infirmary.

Upon arrival, Carson ran John through their scanner. He trusted Praxis, but he never took anyone’s word when it came to his patients. Scans complete, the staff settled John in his private room. Teyla and Ronon sat at his side.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Brody happened to be on duty when the group returned from the other planet. He was pleased to see that Sheppard was human once again. This meant that the wedding would go on as planned.

After Beckett ushered Sheppard to the infirmary, Brody glanced across the Gateroom. He spotted Cordelia stepping out from behind one of the pillars. His eyes tracked her as she crossed the atrium and disappeared behind another column.

Seeing his sister smile made everything he had endured to this point worth it.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

John’s hearing returned first. He kept his breathing steady as he listened for clues to his whereabouts. The distant squeaks, rattles and beeps informed him he was in the infirmary.

“You can open your eyes, Sheppard. We know you’re awake.” The amused rumble woke him the rest of the way.

John cranked his eyes open and blinked a few times to clear his vision. “Nice to see you too, Chewie.” His voice was rough and the short phrase set off a coughing fit.

A straw was held to his lips and he sipped gratefully. “Thanks.” He glanced around. “Who’s we?”

Just as Ronon started to answer, the door opened to admit Carson and Teyla. “It is good to see you awake and yourself, John.”

He beamed at her. “Thanks, Teyla.”

Carson turned to the others. “Teyla, Ronon, why don’t you fetch the Colonel some clothes while I do a final exam afore I release him?”

Both nodded their agreement and left. Once they were gone, Carson locked the door.

“Doc?” John asked with a hint of alarm in his voice.

Carson took a seat. “Relax, lad. Everything’s fine. I just need to talk to you without interruption.”

“Okay, so what’s up, Doc?”

Carson fiddled with his tablet a moment before looking up at John. “After we returned from Praxis, I put you under the scanner to verify for myself that you were back to normal. When I went back to look at the scans, I noticed several of your baselines were different. I recalibrated the scanner and ran a second set. The results came back the same.”

“Okay, so some of the numbers are different. Couldn’t that be because of the transformation?”

Carson shook his head. “I thought that too, but then I remembered that the medical AI said it had detected anomalies in your DNA. At the time, I thought it was referrin’ to the tiger DNA. Now I think it was making reference to the Wraith proteins.” He turned on the big monitor on the wall then hit a few buttons on his tablet. “Here’s your original baseline scan taken before we left Colorado.” He tapped a few more buttons. “This series shows the introduction of the, for better name, Muse protein.” Little gold sparks started to appear, scattered across the reds and whites of muscle and bone in the images. “This was taken after the incident with Ellia and shows the introduction of the Wraith proteins.” Turquoise sparks appeared. “This one was taken after the lightning strike.” More gold sparks appeared forming a lattice work in many areas, the turquoise sparks woven in like beads.

Carson paused and poured himself some water. “This is the scan after we returned from Praxis.”

The colors disappeared and the image darkened and at first John thought it was an error until he glanced at the density scale along the side. The denser tissues were darker in color. His entire musculature had darkened a couple of shades. More of his brain was showing activity and his skeletal structure was now bright white instead of pale grey.

Carson started to say more, but John held up a hand palm out. “Look, Doc, I appreciate the science lesson, but my brain is starting to melt. Just gimme the bottom line, please.”

“What this means is that all of your expressions of the ATA gene are dominants now.”

John frowned. . “So, what, I’m going to Ascend now?”

Carson shook his head. “No, Colonel. I do believe that you may start exhibiting some of the Alteran’s abilities though.”

John rubbed his chin in thought. “Any idea which ones?”

“No.” Carson said. “It could be almost anything. Many had increased stamina and physical abilities while others had a wide variety of mental abilities such as telepathy, telekinesis, and empathy, just to mention a few.”

“John, as your friend and as yer doctor, if you notice any changes or anything peculiar, please let me know.” He glanced down then back up again. “In light of the possible changes, I had Rodney encrypt your full medical record. It’s more secure than the missile launch codes at the Pentagon. It can be accessed only by senior staff. Any attempt to hack it will set off a set of silent alarms and release a virus into the originating computer. There is an edited version of your medical record on the server for regular use, but any attempt to access it from a computer outside the infirmary or to copy it without the right passwords will release a virus.”

“Carson, I appreciate the militant privacy policy, but why?”

Carson placed one hand on John’s shoulder. “I had Rodney do it because neither o’ us wants to see ya ending up as a test subject in Area 51. The Trust and the IOA have proven that they’re willing to use whatever means necessary to get what they want.”

John smiled. “Well, one thing they’ll never have is me. I can turn Atlantis against them in a heartbeat and escape very quickly if I have to. There are plenty of places in this city that I could hide and they’d never find any trace of me.” His expression sobered. “Carson, there is something you need to know. Since the strike, my connection has grown.”

Carson nodded. “Aye.”

“Well, what I hadn’t told you yet is that I can talk to Atlantis just as easily as we are right now.”

“Well, that’s good to know.”

“There’s more.”

“Go on, lad.”

“Well, you remember when Helia took the city back that she called up a control column in the Gateroom?” At Carson’s nod, he continued. “I can do the same thing she did, but I can do it from anywhere in the city … without the column.”

Carson was speechless for a moment at the bomb that had just been dropped. “I’m presumin’ that I’m the only person who knows.”

“Outside of my team, yes.”

Carson stood. “Yer secret’s safe with me, lad. When Teyla gets back yer free to go, but you are off duty for the next two days. Your body needs to recover from the changes.”

 

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

On Earth, when the wormhole stabilized, Major General Jack O’Neill activated the comm unit in his ear.

“Atlantis, this is O’Neill. Are we clear to come through?”

“Aye, Sir, the shield is down. Director Woolsey is on hand to greet you.”

Jack grabbed the handle of his wheeled case and looked around. Besides himself, there were nine other people waiting at the foot of the ramp: Colonel Samantha Carter, Doctor Daniel Jackson, Teal’c, Colonel Cameron Mitchell, Vala Mal Doran, Jeannie, Kaleb and Madison Miller and Dave Sheppard. John and Teyla’s absence from the greeting committee meant that they would be very surprised by this last, very special guest.

They were going to Atlantis directly, having all been quarantined within the mountain.

Teal’c, Daniel and Mitchell stepped through and Dave Sheppard hesitated on the event horizon. The sight reminded Jack of watching another Sheppard make his first trek through the Gate seven years ago. “Y’know, your brother did the same thing.”

Dave looked over at him. “Really?”

Jack smiled. “Yep, stood up there in the Control Room an’ watched him. Then he took a deep breath, tightened his grip on his P90 and stepped through.”

Dave took a deep breath, tightened his grip on his luggage and went through.

Jack’s grin grew broader. “Sheppards.” The rest of the guests followed him through to Atlantis.

He spotted Woolsey and they exchanged polite greetings in the middle of the Gate Room. “Where’s Sheppard? I thought he’d be here to greet his guests.”

Woolsey grimaced. “There was an incident two weeks ago.”

Jack groaned. “What now?” He steered Woolsey to one side, away from everyone else. “He didn’t turn into a bug again, did he?”

“No, something worse.”

“What could be worse than being turned into a bug?

“A cat.”

Jack stared and almost burst into laughter. “Seriously?”

“Yes. I’m allergic to cats.”

A grin tugging his lips, Jack could see how that could be worse. He introduced everyone to Woolsey who explained that John and Teyla had been unavoidably detained. Then he herded them off to the infirmary. Even though they’d just spent 12 hours in quarantine at the SGC, they still had to do the mandatory checkup.

Daniel must have picked up on Jack’s body language during his one on one with Woolsey because he brushed by Jack and said. “You’ll tell me later what was so funny.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Teyla stood in the doorway and watched John sleep. After he had awakened from his ordeal a few hours ago, Carson had allowed her to take John home. His tests were clear and there were no further traces of the sedative in his system. Carson had mentioned that he was going to sequence John’s DNA again to determine if Praxis had made any other changes.

Satisfied that he slept peacefully, she drifted towards the main room. She paused to peer into the spare bedroom where many of the items for the wedding had been stored. John’s dress blues hung from a rack on one side, silver eagles glinting from the shoulders. Her dress hung from a similar rack on the other side, cloaked by a dark sheet to protect it until the day of the ceremony. A third rack held the dresses for the bridesmaids.

She sat in the main room and picked up a book. It was not often that she had quiet time, but Torren was with Aleeah so John could rest. The procedure had been physically taxing and had left him exhausted. She had just finished a chapter when her com beeped.

_“Teyla?”_

“Yes, Amelia?”

_“Mr. Woolsey needs you in the conference room.”_

Teyla sighed. She hated to leave John while he was recovering from the transformation.

_“He said it’s urgent, but will not take long.”_

“Very well, I shall be there shortly.” She walked into their bedroom, turned on the radio by the bed and set it to VOX on their private channel. She placed a light kiss on John’s temple.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Teyla’s steps slowed as she approached the conference room and took in the large collection of luggage scattered along the wall. She paused for a moment to school her thoughts as she counted the days and realized what the nagging feeling had been trying to tell her. She nodded a greeting to the personnel on duty before she walked through the louvered doors. She recognized many but not all of the ten people in the room.

Jack and Sam moved forward to greet her.

“Teyla, it’s good to see you again.” Sam said as they touched foreheads.

“I am glad to see you, Sam.” Teyla said before she turned to the General. “And you as well, Jack.” She surveyed the rest of the people in the room. She smiled with delight at the sight of the woman with reddish-blond hair who was accompanied by a young blond girl and a tall, slim dark-haired man. “Jeannie, it is lovely to see you again.”

Jeannie smiled as they engaged in the Athosian greeting before hugging. “This is my daughter Madison and my husband Kaleb.”

After she welcomed Jeannie’s family, Teyla turned to one of the unfamiliar presences. “You must be Colonel Mitchell, John and I are glad that you were able to come. He has told me much about you.”

“You’ll have to thank my boss for that.” Cam said as he tilted his head in greeting, his drawl warm and friendly. “Don’t believe half of it. Shep and I are good friends – I wouldn’t miss this for anything.”

“Daniel, Vala, Teal’c, it is good to see you again.” Teyla nodded to each and received nods in return. She focused on Daniel. “Rodney has an office set up for you to use and has stocked it with interesting puzzles.”

She smiled as Daniel began to rise from his seat; eyes alight in anticipation, only to be pulled back down by Vala.

Teyla bowed her head to Teal’c. The Jaffa returned the greeting, poised as always. “Ronon is looking forward to sparring with you while you are here.”

Teal’c smiled. “Indeed. I have been anticipating a re-match with Ronon Dex for some time. Colonel Mitchell has expressed an interest in joining us.”

Cam looked up, a glint in his eye. “Maybe we can get Shep to join us, make it Atlantis versus Cheyenne.”

Teyla smiled noncommittally. “Perhaps.”

At that moment, the last person at the table intruded. “Speaking of, where is John? He was supposed to be here to meet us.”

Teyla glanced at Sam. Sam read the question and said, “This is David Sheppard, John’s brother.”

Teyla noticed the slight familial resemblance. She hoped that John would be pleased that his brother was here. She remembered the list before it was sent off and his brother was not on it. She knew they were reconciling, and had inquired as to his absence from the list. John replied that his brother was too busy to take that much time off from his work, but she had let it drop. She felt that the mention of his brother’s work was John’s way of covering up his lingering insecurity regarding their relationship. “I am pleased to meet you, David. I am sorry that John is unable to be here. He is recovering from a recent incident.”

Jeannie piped up. “He’s not hurt badly, is he?”

Teyla shook her head. “He is uninjured, but the ordeal left him exhausted. He is asleep in our quarters at this moment.”

“I would still like to see him,” Dave said.

“That shall be quite easy to do. He should be waking soon, and you are staying near us.” Teyla turned and captured the Millers in her gaze. “Jeannie, you and your family are also staying near us.”

Woolsey stood. “Colonel Carter, General O’Neill, your usual quarters are ready. Colonel Carter, Colonel Mitchell, Teal’c, Doctor Jackson and Ms. Mal Doran are on the same hall as yourself and General O’Neill. If you sync your tablet with the city, you’ll find the room assignments marked on the map. Now, I shall leave you all to get settled and bid you a good day.”

Teyla led the Millers and Dave out of the conference room, each with their luggage in hand. When the party from Earth gated in, the sky had been overcast, but now the sun bathed the Gateroom in a wash of brilliant colors. She paused a moment to let their guests enjoy Atlantis in her mighty splendor before they went deeper into the city. Behind her, she heard cries of wonderment from the Millers. With a sideways glance, she caught the admiring looks that Dave gave the city.

Once everyone fit in the transporter, Teyla touched the map and the unit hummed and flashed. When the doors slid open, she waved the group forward. “Welcome to our home.”

Jeannie’s jaw dropped as she stepped through the doorway. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but this wasn’t it. The transporter opened into a central area. There were benches and plants scattered through the room. Four corridors branched out, each marked by a different colored column at the entrance. Teyla pointed to the blue marked corridor. “John and I are at the end of that corridor. Ronon is at the end of the green while Rodney is halfway down the red one.” She gestured towards the Millers. “Jeannie, Kaleb and Madison, your suite is at the end of the red corridor. There is a tablet in the main room with meal times and a map of the city. David, you will be staying with John and me.”

Teyla gestured towards a bright blue wall plate. “Before you leave, I must ask that each of you, with the exception of Jeannie, step up and place your hand on this sensor.”

“If I may, why is this necessary?” Dave said.

“It is so the door sensor will recognize your DNA. This door and some others are programmed to open only to certain personnel.”

“That sounds rather extreme,” Dave said.

Teyla nodded - a sad look on her face. “It is, but events occurred that necessitated the added security. If General O’Neill did not tell you of these events, you may ask about them later.” Her gaze flitted across each face. “Each suite has its own small, well-stocked kitchen, so you may eat here or in the Mess Hall. If John is feeling better, we shall see you for dinner.” She bid them a good day and headed towards the quarters she shared with John, Dave trailing behind her.

“Teyla, what happened to John?”

Teyla slowed to allow Dave to catch up. “There was an incident involving an Ascension device. John was transformed into a tiger.”

A barked laugh greeted her statement. “A tiger? You’ve got to be kidding me!”

“I assure you it is no joke. You may come with me to see him, and if he is awake you may verify it with him.”

The trip down the corridor was brief and the door opened at Teyla’s touch. Dave followed her in. Once he set his suitcase down, he looked around while Teyla went to check on John. He never would have figured his brother would live in a place like this, but he could see things that were done in such a way that they screamed ‘John’. He turned on his heel slowly, taking in the furnishings and other items. He noticed the frames on one wall and went to check them out. He’d learned early on that you could tell a lot about people by looking at the things they put on their walls. Interspersed with photos of family, friends, and the various aircraft John had flown throughout his career were his framed commendations and awards. Some he recognized, others he didn’t. The signed order in the center caught his eye and his jaw dropped in shock.

“He received that several months ago after being instrumental in the defense of Earth against a Wraith Super Hive,” Teyla said.

Dave was stunned. His little brother had been honored with the Congressional Medal of Honor. “How …?”

“He flew an F302 armed with a nuclear warhead into the Hive’s Dart Bay. His ship was damaged so he had been unable to fire the missile. He set the timer and was prepared to die, but unbeknownst to him Rodney, Ronon and I were also aboard. We picked up his last transmission to Earth. Together we were able to rig the warhead with a remote detonator before we escaped through a Stargate aboard the Hive ship.”

Dave snapped his fingers. “The bright flash and the disappearing meteor! They must have been the Hive ship.”

Teyla smiled at his deduction. He was very quick-witted. “Yes … and no.”

Dave shot her a look. “Huh?”

“The bright flash was the Hive disintegrating while the disappearing meteor was Atlantis coming to rest in the ocean.”

“Wow,” Dave said. “How is he doing?”

“He is resting but will probably wake soon.”

After they talked some more, Teyla showed Dave to the guest room. He returned to the main room after he unpacked and took a short rest. He examined the various artifacts that were scattered around the room and Teyla told him the stories that went with many of the items.

Dave felt a presence behind him and turned. John stood in the middle of the hall that led to the bedrooms.

“Dave?” The brief look of shock that crossed John’s face told Dave that John hadn’t known that he was coming.

Dave hurried across the room to wrap his brother in a hug. “John, it’s good to see you.” John initially stiffened as Dave’s arms encircled him, but after a moment he loosened up and returned the gesture.

“Hi, Dave, it’s nice to see you too.”


	10. Reconciliation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all of you that have read, bookmarked or left kudos on this little story of mine. I appreciate all of you.  
> Big thanks to Nacimynom for taking the time to knock the rough edges off and to Mysra for reading and commenting.  
> I also blame Keira Marcos and her Ties That Bind series for inspiring part of this chapter.  
> Enjoy!

Dave held his brother out at arm’s length. “You look well. Teyla said you’d been turned into a cat. Is she serious or pulling my leg?”

“Huh, well you’re still a good liar.” John shook his head as he pulled back. He wandered over and dropped, with a soft thud, into his favorite chair. “No, she’s telling the truth. I just spent the last two weeks as a tiger.”

Dave’s expression turned to one of shock. “My god, John, how …?”

John flashed Teyla a smile as she handed him a cold glass of water before she snuggled into the chair with him. His free hand caressed her swollen belly. “The Alterans, or Ancients as we tend to call them, were a very old race. They had conquered most of modern civilization’s warts – disease, poverty, war, most crimes. In their search for new horizons, they found out about Ascension. Ascension allowed them to leave the world of flesh behind and become beings of pure energy. In their quest for Ascension, they turned to a lot of different paths. Some chose meditation while others tried to find a mechanical means. Many of these “Ascension machines” were so poorly thought out that we’re pretty surprised they didn’t blow Atlantis up.”

Dave was silent as he processed what John just said. “And you encountered one of these devices.”

“He did.” Teyla took up the thread momentarily. “The device altered his DNA to that of an animal.”

Dave was curious. “Why a tiger?”

John smiled - a hint of tiredness creeping in. “Because Rodney and Carson were arguing about the merits of cats and dogs while touching the device’s control console. Just before the device activated, I was thinking about tigers being more regal than lions. Then the device triggered, there was a bright flash and when I woke up I was a black tiger.” He shifted in the chair. “So, how did you get here? Because I’m sorry, but you weren’t on the list of guests that I gave Woolsey.”

A brief flash of pain crossed Dave’s face. “A couple of months ago, I’d just gotten home from work when the doorbell rang. I opened it to find an Air Force General on my porch.”

“O’Neill.” John made the name a statement rather than a question.

“The very same. After he had me sign the most comprehensive Non-Disclosure Agreement on the planet, he proceeded to turn my worldview upside down. Then, if that wasn’t enough, he invited me to my brother’s wedding which, coincidentally, is being held in the lost city of Atlantis.” Dave looked down at his hands then back up. “I hope you’re not upset.”

John took a sip of water. “Upset, no. Surprised, yes. I would’ve invited you, but you didn’t have clearance, plus I figured you were probably too busy to come so why invite you if you couldn’t come.” It was John’s turn to duck his head. “And I figured you wouldn’t want to come since it was only my wedding and it wouldn’t get you in the Society pages in the newspaper.”

Dave crossed the room and knelt in front of John. “John, you’re my brother. If I had refused, Julia would’ve smacked me upside the head for thinking like that. She never held with Dad’s opinion of you. You were the one thing they agreed to disagree on.” He reached out and grabbed John’s shoulders. “You’re my brother and I love you and I’m so proud of you.” The two brothers hugged again before Dave returned to his seat.

“General O’Neill let me read some of your mission reports after I got to Colorado. Some of them are so unbelievable that I’d think they were cheesy science fiction if I hadn’t seen the Gate in action.” Dave paused and cleared his throat. “I asked how you got picked to go on the Expedition.”

John stifled a yawn. “Oh, yeah? What did O’Neill tell you?”

Dave gazed at his brother. He’d caught the edge of the yawn and from the way Teyla was looking at John she had too. “Well, he said that your exceptional flying abilities saved both of your asses and earned you a trip to a top-secret research base. Once there, you disobeyed orders and sat in a chair.”

John laughed. “Yeah, when we got off the elevator, he told me not to touch anything. I didn’t know he meant literally everything. I sat in a chair that could’ve doubled as a throne from Conan the Barbarian. It lit up as soon as my butt hit the seat. Then McKay comes in and asks me to think about where we are in the solar system. No sooner were the words out of his mouth than a very detailed hologram appeared above me and my fate was sealed. Between Elizabeth – Dr. Elizabeth Weir, the first Head of the Expedition – and O’Neill, they pretty much had me.”

Dave sobered. “He also told me that the Expedition was basically a one-way mission at that point.”

“It was.” John said softly, his gaze shifted to the window. “At that point, all I lived for was flying. Mom was dead; Dad practically disowned me for joining the Air Force; and you were toeing the line and cut me off too.” He turned back when Teyla gently squeezed his arm. “Coming here was the best thing for me. I have friends that care about me, not my family’s money. I have a family that doesn’t give a crap about appearances.”

Dave winced. “John, I’m sorry. After the funeral, I told you that Dad regretted the words between you. For so many years, all he saw was your brilliance and what it could do for him and the company. Mom tried to get him to leave you alone, but he refused to hear her. He kept track of your career, but he never said anything about it. I did too. I was proud of you, but the first time I tried to say anything about you, I was told to not bring it up again. We lost track of you in 2004, which would be when you entered the Stargate Program.”

John swallowed another sip of water and said, “Yeah. So when did he change his mind?”

“When he got a letter from a family friend telling him how great it was that you’d made Lieutenant Colonel. Apparently the guy’s son served at Cheyenne Mountain, recognized you and decided to write home about it. He couldn’t tell the details, of course, but he said what he could. After downing about half a bottle of bourbon, Dad told me what an ass he’d been and how right Mom had been when you were little.”

“Mom always told me that I was meant to do great things and that I would go far.” He gave Dave a sad little smile. “She never knew just how right she was about that last part.” He yawned again; this one caught him unaware and threatened to crack his jaw.

“John, you still need to rest. Your brother will be here for some time.” Teyla awkwardly stood and dragged John with her. “We shall all have dinner together and you may talk more then. I have already arranged for food to be brought.”

John kissed Teyla. Unable to stifle another huge yawn, he just waved at Dave as he headed back to bed.

After John left the room, Dave looked at Teyla as she returned to her seat. “He really loves you. Our mother was the only person he’d listen to like that.”

Teyla was prevented from answering by a chime. Before she could rise, the door opened and a miniature whirlwind entered.

“Mama, where Da?” Dave watched as the speaker, a young boy about three years old, shot into Teyla’s lap.

“Torren, we have a guest.” Teyla pointed to Dave. “This is your Uncle David. He is your father’s brother.”

Torren looked up at Teyla. “Like Unca Ronon and Unca Rodney?”

She nodded. “Yes, except David and John have the same father. Can you say ‘hello’?”

The boy ducked his head shyly. “Hello, Unca Dabid.”

Dave laughed. “You can call me Dave.”

Torren tried again. “Unca Dabe.”

“Close enough.”

“David, this is Torren John Emmagan.”

“Hello, Torren. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

A woman with a similar complexion to Teyla’s entered, looking slightly sheepish. “Sorry Teyla, he got away from me.”

Teyla waved it off. “It is no problem, Aleeah. I am certain that he was very anxious to return home.” She gestured towards Dave. “Aleeah, this is John’s brother, David Sheppard. David, this is Aleeah. She is the day minder for the children here in the city.”

“Children? Isn’t it dangerous for children here?”

“No sir.” Aleeah’s voice was soft but strong. “It is safer here than on many of the other worlds here in the Pegasus Galaxy. The Wraith are still a threat, as are bandits.”

Dave stood and held out his hands for his nephew. “Your Daddy’s resting. Let’s go check on him.”

Torren looked at Teyla and when she nodded he took Dave’s hand. Teyla watched as the two went to check on John. They were gone for a while before Dave came back alone.

“Torren climbed up on the bed with John, sat beside him quietly for a few minutes then snuggled up with him and went to sleep.” Dave passed, unsure how the question he wanted to ask would be received. “You can refuse to answer if you wish, but are you sure that Torren is not John’s child?”

Teyla smiled, gesturing towards the chairs. “I am positive. Torren’s birth father is a man of my people. Due to events, Kanaan was not around for my pregnancy. John was, and after his anger dissipated, he was very solicitous of me, spending much time with me to make sure I was comfortable.”

Reminded of an old wives’ tale he’d heard, Dave took a guess. Many women swore it was possible, and science had proven it to an extent. “Did he lay hands on your belly and talk to Torren before he was born?”

Teyla’s smile grew wider. “Yes, and John and I have discussed this. He has done so with this child as well.” She caressed her swollen belly. “We too feel that that is why they are so close. It does not hurt that John was the first man to truly hold him and rock him to sleep, even if it was in the cockpit of a Wraith Dart.”

At Dave’s look of incredulity, Teyla told him the entire story.

Dinner was jovial. A simple meal turned into a festive occasion that lasted into the night with all their guests having a good time before they headed to bed.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

After recent events, John had a lot of paperwork to catch up on. Lorne had taken care of a good chunk of it, but there was some that had to have John’s approval. With the wedding a short time away, John needed to get as much done as possible because there’d be more waiting on him when they got back from their honeymoon. He was over halfway through the files when Stackhouse escorted four of the newer troopers into his office. John took a moment to observe, leaning back in his chair as his eyes bored holes in the four men. He noted the signs of a scuffle. “Gentlemen, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?”

“Colonel, I found Corporal Riggins, Airman Jones, Airman First Class Wilson and Lance Corporal Keene fighting in the locker room.” Stackhouse reported. “None of them are willing to tell me why they were fighting.”

John shifted his gaze from Stackhouse to Riggins then Keene, holding it there before drifting to Smith and Wilson. His eyes darkened with temper. “Men, we are here to protect this city and to fight the Wraith, along with any other group that dares to fuck with us. We are not here to fight each other. Now, you idiots have three choices.” John held up one finger. “First choice is a reprimand in your jackets for fighting and loss of one month’s pay. Second choice is that you fess up and serve your time on a punishment detail. Third choice “and another finger joined the first two “is that you face me or Ronon in the gym.”

They looked at each other, a silent conversation going between the two pairs. John looked past them to Stackhouse who rolled his eyes. John smirked in agreement, his face schooled back to careful blankness before the four soldiers turned back to him.

“What do we get if we win?”[M1] [A2] 

John exchanged a knowing look with Stackhouse. “For facing one of us, you get to keep your stripes, your pay and clean jackets.”

Keene looked at Riggins then Smith and Wilson, who nodded. “We’ll take the challenge.”

“Very well.” John nodded in acceptance. He’d expected it. Only a few had ever declined facing him or Ronon. Those that did had been transferred out quickly. “Me or Ronon?”

“You, Sir.”

“Any questions?”

“No, Sir.”

“Very well.” John tapped his radio to the general military channel. “This is an All Call. Except those on guard duty in the Gateroom, I want all military personnel in the main gym in one hour.” He closed the connection and turned back to Stackhouse. “Take these four to the locker room. Get them changed and warmed up. I don’t want any half-assed excuses for a poor performance.”

“Yes, Sir.” Stackhouse prodded the four unlucky troopers out of John’s office.

As he finished the form he’d been working on, John thought about Carson’s surprise this morning. After a thorough exam, Carson informed him that he was returned to full duty instead of light, and reminded him to be careful. John shut down his computer and headed for the locker room.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Teyla enjoyed escorting Dave around and showing him the city. She knew John could possibly do a better job of explaining many of the wondrous things Atlantis had to offer, but she did very well on her own. Dave wandered over to one of the windows to look at the craftsmanship when she heard the All Call to the main gymnasium. She wondered what had occurred and decided that this would be a way for Dave to get to know John better.

Dave rejoined her and she guided their steps to the gym. Once inside, they skirted the room until they reached the stairs to the Observation Deck. At the top, they settled in chairs placed to one side.

Dave turned to look at her. “So, why are we here?”

“When certain types of discipline problems arise in the city, John gives the perpetrator the option of receiving a reprimand, confessing their crime and serving a punishment or facing off against himself or Ronon. We are here because the responsible party has chosen to go against one of the two of them.”

“Pardon me if I’m wrong, but this is not the way things are usually handled by the military.”

Teyla shook her head. “No, you are not wrong. John is a very unorthodox commander.” She paused a moment. “Rodney once said it best. He said John thinks so far out of the box that the box might as well be in another galaxy.”

Dave chuckled. “That sounds like John alright. So, what does the Military Commander of Atlantis do?”

“John is responsible for the safety and security of Atlantis and all who reside here. He is also ultimately responsible for the training and management of the military contingent here in the city. John, Richard and Rodney decide which planets are viable for exploration. John decides which teams will go to which planets. John also works with Rodney and Radek in testing some of the Ancient’s devices that have been discovered.”

“That is some list.” Dave sounded impressed.

“Whenever a rescue mission is needed or an ally is in trouble, success is often due to John’s abilities. His actions and quick thinking have saved the lives of everyone in this city many times.”

“He must be good to do all that from the security of the city.”

Teyla shook her head sharply. “No, John leads from the field. He does not believe in sending others to do something that he would not do himself.”

Dave snorted. “So my easy-going brother takes the easy missions to show that he’s willing to contribute.”

“We often undertake the most risky or dangerous missions ourselves. By doing so, John can adequately get a feel for conditions on many of the worlds.” Teyla peered down at the floor below and noticed that the room was nearly full.

Dave appeared shocked. Teyla wondered if it was because he was beginning to see John for who he really was or if it was something else.

“You said ‘we’. Who is part of this we?”

“Ronon, Rodney and I are all part of John’s team.”

“But, you have a son … and you’re pregnant.”

“Until two months ago, I was still going on missions with John. At the request of his troops, John did take some of the easier missions for us.”

“Was this a case of sucking up or …?”

“No.” Teyla cut him off. “John’s troops are loyal and respect him greatly. He is selfless, caring and has shown that he values each of them. We have been to many worlds where this is not always the case.”

Dave grimaced. “It’s not always the case on Earth either. Too many commanders throw the lives of their troops away for nothing.”

“John lives by the motto that no one shall be left behind.” She stared into the distance for a moment. “At one time, that did not include himself.”

John’s voice floated up from below and put a hold on their conversation. Movement caught her attention and she saw that Sam and Jack had entered and taken seats on the other side. They scooted forward to see what transpired below.

John stood at the front of the room looking out across the sea of faces, his eyes glittering darkly. Four soldiers, attired in workout clothes, stood in advance of the gathered troops. From his attire, Teyla discerned that those to be disciplined had decided to face him. She was interested in what may happen as they had not sparred since John had returned to his natural form.

“Men, what is the first rule of my city?”

“Protect the geeks, Sir!”

John casually crossed his arms. “And what is the second rule of my city?”

“Don’t piss off the Colonel, Sir!”

“And what are the things that piss me off most?”

“Brawling, lying, stealing, and Wraith, Sir!”

“Corporal Riggins, Airman Smith, Airman First Class Wilson and Lance Corporal Keene – front and center!” The group of Marines and Airmen took two steps forward. “The four of you were caught fighting earlier today and have decided to face off against me in the sparring ring instead of having a disciplinary mark placed in your records. Is this correct?”

The four answered in slightly ragged unison. “Sir! Yes, Sir!”

John stepped over and picked up his bantos rods. “Well, gentlemen, choose your weapons.” He twirled the rods in lazy loops. “C’mon, I don’t have all day.”

The unlucky quartet almost stumbled over each other in their haste to grab staves from the wall rack.

“Has my brother developed a death wish? He’s going to face off against four soldiers at one time?”

“John is very skilled. He spars with myself and Ronon on a regular basis.” The clacking of sticks echoed up from below.

“Does he win?”

“Against Ronon, no, but he holds his own and does not lose easily.”

“And against you?”

“I have been teaching John the art of Bantos. Those are bantos rods that he holds. He has become very skilled in their use. I still, as he puts it, kick his ass, but recently we have been coming to a draw and there have been a few times that he has beaten me.”

Exclamations from below drew their attention once again. They peered below to see John facing two of the men; the other two were on the mats. These two appeared to be more experienced. Instead of charging in, Teyla judged that they had held back to judge what John would do and allowed their comrades to take the brunt of the punishment. John stood still, rods raised to guard as the two circled, looking for an opening. John relaxed slightly and dropped one shoulder just a hair, but it was enough. They watched as one of the men stepped in, staff weaving figure eights. Closing in, John went to work rods flying as he blocked strikes from his opponent while he snaked his way through the other man’s defenses to land stinging blows.

Seeing an opportunity, the second man decided to join the fray. Teyla watched as John shifted as though he had been expecting the second man to attack and was ready when the second staff swept in at mid-height from behind. John freed one rod from his attack against his first opponent in order to block the shot from behind as he backed away. She was pleased as John moved so both of his opponents were in front of him. As he blocked strikes from both men, John’s rods were a blur; the clatter of wood on wood filled the room. Occasionally, one of the pair would get in a glancing blow, but nothing hard enough to throw John off. John, on the other hand, was landing a lot of blows – some glancing, but most not. The two men shone with sweat by the time the other two men recovered enough to rejoin the match.

“That … is … incredible. I have never seen anything like it.”

“As I said, John is very skilled.” Dave asked some questions about the various moves John was using which Teyla answered, but the better portion of her attention was focused on John. He moved with ease and, even though all four of his opponents were perspiring heavily, John’s skin had only a light sheen of sweat upon it.

“Earlier, you said that John considered himself expendable. Can you tell me why?”

“When I first met John, it was shortly after the expedition arrived here in Atlantis. We did not know he had any living family until his father passed. Near the end of the expedition’s first year here, the Wraith attacked the city in large numbers. Reinforcements from Earth arrived, but Colonel Everett’s strategy of planting nuclear space mines was foiled by the Wraith.” Teyla paused to center herself. She hated to think how close they had come to losing John during the siege. “In order to give further reinforcements time to arrive, he flew a Jumper carrying a nuclear warhead into the launch bay of a hive ship. He was saved by the timely arrival of the Daedalus. Colonel Caldwell beamed him from the Jumper seconds before the warhead detonated.”

Dave looked stricken as she told the tale. “I had no idea the rift had affected him that badly.”

Teyla looked over the ledge in front of them and watched John as she regained control of her emotions. With four opponents to face, John had shifted strategy. No longer content to stay in one place, he was in motion, ducking, spinning and weaving between the foursome, many of his moves calculated to make them foul each other and therefore create openings for him to strike. After a particularly vicious exchange, John managed to isolate one man. He took advantage of the momentary isolation, and struck out; he swept the soldier’s staff away with one stick, which forced him to turn. He then clipped him at the base of the skull hard enough to knock him out.

“John was a Major when he joined the Stargate Program. Do you know how he became base commander? General O’Neill wouldn’t tell me. He said I would have to ask John.”

Teyla told Dave of meeting John in the company of Colonel Sumner and their capture by Wraith, John’s subsequent rescue mission and of his having to kill Sumner.

“Oh my god, that’s horrible.”

“He was sick with worry and guilt for days afterward. It was only due to myself and Aiden Ford that we shook him out of it. His smile was rather strained for a time afterward. It was during this time that I discovered how high the walls he had built to protect his inner self truly were. It took me months to knock holes in them and get him to let me in. Even then I only managed to get in just a short distance.”

Teyla saw a sad smile blossom on Dave’s face. “Yeah, he was always good at building walls to keep people out. Most of it was due to our father’s influence. He raised us to not show emotion in public. Our mother always tried to get us to express our feelings. John spent most of his time with our mother because he could be himself. She encouraged him to follow his dreams. It was only after he grew older and Dad started trying to push John down the path he wanted him to go that John started shutting everyone out and his rebellious nature took hold.” Dave shook his head to clear his thoughts. “So when did you finally break down the Great Wall of John?”

Teyla smiled at his description even as she observed John below. His skill appeared to have greatly increased from their last sparring bout. He still had only a light sheen of moisture on his skin while his remaining opponents were breathing heavily. His speed reminded her of a Wraith. Surely he had not become infected again? She was starting to worry when she recalled what Carson had relayed about the procedure John had undergone on Praxis. The AI had stated that it had detected anomalies. At the time, she thought that it was referring to the changes wrought by the Ascension device, but now she wondered if it had been speaking of the Wraith proteins. She made a note to ask John about it later. “Slightly more than a year ago, after Atlantis returned here from Earth.”

“But your son’s name is Torren John. I thought that …”

“That John is his father? Torren’s birth father is a man of my people. Kanaan and I were fond of each other when we were younger and at the time I despaired of John letting me know his intentions as it is traditional for Athosian men to make the first move. Kanaan shared his feelings with me and we spent some time together, but it did not work out. After Torren was born, Kanaan and I went separate ways. Torren bears John’s name because I wanted my son to have the qualities of the two men I admired most in this life – my father and John. John stepped into the role of father with my blessing and loves Torren as his own.”

Dave chuckled. “Yeah, I can see that. The two of them are inseparable.”

They heard a crack and leaned forward in time to see a soldier go down with a pained cry, leaving just two others. They watched John as he took a guard stance, rods at the ready as he waited on the two remaining soldiers to decide their next moves. “Y’know, you two can lay down those staffs and yield. If you do, I’ll only give you thirty days of punishment detail instead of sixty.”

Shock danced across their faces. “You told us we’d get clean jackets!”

“If you won.” John said. “You never asked about what you’d get if you lost.” He pointed at the first, who was groaning and twitching off to one side. “Keene and Smith are going to spend sixty days in the sewers after Carson clears them for duty. Lay down those weapons now, and confess the reason for the fight, and you’ll both get thirty days geek duty. If I have to put you down, you’ll get sixty days at whatever job I can come up with that you’ll hate.”

After a lot of low voiced arguing, the pair said. “We yield.”

Sheppard prodded them over to the center of the mat to face the rest of the company. ”Company dismissed.”

The two men lowered their heads, staring at the floor in shame as the room emptied. Soon, only Sheppard, Lorne, Ronon, Mitchell and Teal’c remained.

“Now, what was the fight over?”

Riggings swallowed hard then opened his mouth. “We, um … we were fighting over women.

“How so?”

“Well, because Wilson said Marines only get chicks when they pay for them. Then Keene chimed in and said Airmen only date ugly women because they don’t want to be seen with anyone prettier than they are and that it’s doubly true for pilots.”

“And?” John’s drawl packed a lot into the single word.

Riggins blushed as he stammered out the rest. “Um … um, then I asked Smith if his girlfriend dumped him because she couldn’t stand to be with a guy that was prettier than she was.”

As she watched her beloved, Teyla went back to her earlier thoughts. Had the device on Praxis that had returned him to human also made him somehow closer to the Ancients?


	11. Genetics 101

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in posting. RL intruded for both myself and my wonderful beta, Nacimynom.  
> Thanks to all who have left kudos, comments, bookmarked or subscribed.  
> Translations are from Bing. If they're wrong, don't yell at me. Any other errors are mine though.

Rodney showed Jeannie, Kaleb and Madison around the city. The three adults traded stories while Madison ranged out ahead of them, but always stayed in sight, never going too far. Rodney loved his sister and niece. Now he had to admit that Kaleb had grown on him. Over the course of the day, he had discovered that he and Kaleb actually had a lot in common. For one, they both disliked lazy people that tried to pass off substandard work as masterpieces. Another thing they both detested was people that refused to take ownership of their mistakes by trying to place blame on others.

When they passed through the lab sections, Jeannie asked to see Rodney’s lab. Rodney led them to one he shared with Radek. He expected to find Radek there, running diagnostics on a compact, high output solar cell and using the database to track down the Ancient’s shipyards and figure out which were destroyed and which were still viable. Radek was not alone though. Dr. Dieter was there, arguing with Radek about discrepancies between some of his translations and the translations Atlantis had performed. 

Finally, Radek had enough. “I am not responsible for your errors.” He pointed at the tablet Dieter kept trying to shove in his face. “Look here, you did not parse the verbs correctly which threw off the sequence. And here, you confused _potentia_ with potential.” He caught a glimpse of Rodney and Jeannie entering the lab and hurried over to hand the tablet to Rodney. “Rodney, Dieter has a problem with Atlantis’ translations.”

Rodney took the tablet from Radek. He looked over the material, occasionally making a ‘hmmm’ sound. “Well, some of these are definitely wrong. I believe several more are, but I’m still learning Ancient. The best person to ask for verification would be Sheppard.”

Dieter snatched the tablet from Rodney. “Oh, yes, let’s go ask Colonel Sheppard,” he sneered. “He’s probably the one who taught Atlantis this … this gibberish in the first place.”

“Actually, all I did was arrange access for her to the Global Language Archive. She did the rest.” Four heads turned to see John leaning in the doorway, Dave and a pregnant Teyla stood just behind him. John strolled over and took the tablet from Dieter. His lips pursed as he read and compared the translations. He handed the tablet back to Dieter with a shake of his head. “Sorry, Doc, but your translation is wrong.”

Dieter looked at the tablet in his hand like John had just placed the largest slug in existence there. “If I am not needed to translate Alteran,” and he threw the tablet to smash against a wall, “then why am I here?”

John narrowed his eyes, but Rodney opened his mouth first.

“You are here, Doctor Dieter, to assist with translations when we run into groups that are not included in the Stargate translation matrix. Really, who did you pay off to get past the psych evaluations? Ever heard of anger management? Just because Sheppard won’t approve your pet project is no reason to take your anger out on me. The tablets we use are specialized equipment. You can’t just waltz into Best Buy and pick one up.” Rodney walked over to the lab’s equipment locker and pulled out a rather disreputable tablet then handed it to Dieter. “Since you can’t be trusted with nice toys, you can use this instead.”  ,” Rodney jutted his chin out. “If you cannot do that job then pack your bags and go back to Earth. I do not have time to nursemaid idiots.”

Dieter stood in the middle of Rodney’s lab, mouth moving like a fish out of water before he turned and stomped from the room muttering under his breath in Russian. “урод Парикмахерская”

John smiled as Dieter drew even with him. Just as he started through the doorway, John leaned in just a bit. “You got that wrong. I believe you meant урод ублюдок. Russian is good to curse in, but Klingon is better, kinda like this,” he drew in a breath then spat out a handful of syllables. “SoH paH SoSlI' tlhaQ!”

Dieter just clamped his jaw shut and hurried out.

Radek and Rodney waited until Dieter was down the corridor before they burst out laughing. “Oh, that was priceless, Colonel.” Radek gasped out as he took off his glasses to dry his face.

John just leaned in the doorway and grinned.

Teyla glanced at Dave who looked as confused as she was then turned to John. “What were those words?”

John wrapped his arm around her and drew her close. “Which ones?’

“All of them.”

John flashed a quirky grin. “Well, Dieter called me a _freak barber_ but I think he was trying to call me a _freak bastard_ , which is what I said to him.”

Radek bobbed his head. “Yes, yes, but best is what you said in Klingon.”

Dave looked askance at his brother. “What did you say?”

Radek took a deep breath “SoH paH SoSlI' tlhaQ! translates to: your mother dresses you funny.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Carl Dieter stormed into his lab and shut the doors. He wished the Ancient doors would slam but the mechanism prevented that. He stopped in front of his workbench and looked at the notes scattered across it. In a fit of disgust he swept them off the slab. Loose papers fluttered like startled birds.

The door whisked open and startled him. Brody stood inside the closing door.

“Are we ready?”

“Soon Doc, very soon.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

John flashed a cocky grin as he took a seat across from Carson. “What’s up, Doc?”

“Sorry to pull you away from yer guests, lad. I’ve been doing some research into the Lantean genome that is rather interesting.” Carson said.

John grimaced. “Yeah, I’ve heard a lot about Lantean genetics. I made the mistake of making a comment about it a few weeks ago. Atlantis promptly gave me an in-depth lecture on the non-homogenous nature of the gene, the alleles that control heredity, dominant, recessives and all the rest.”

“Well, I won’t give it to you again. The reason I brought it up is that I’ve been analyzing the DNA tests of the SGCs personnel and those of our people here and I’ve found some interesting patterns in the mitochondrial DNA that could help screen for success with the ATA gene therapy.”

John waved his hand. “Doc, cut to the chase, please.”

“Sorry lad. I found a huge amount of information in the database devoted solely to bloodlines and I want to use it to run what I call the Lantean Genome project. I’d been combing the database for genetic information and Atlantis nudged me in the right direction.” He glanced down at the tablet in front of him. “From the information that Atlantis translated for me, it seems that the ATA gene was not a homogenous gene for them.”

A look of understanding crossed John’s face. “From the differences in their technology I’m not surprised that the gene wasn’t expressed at the same level for all of the Ancients.”

Carson beamed. Carson knew John was smart, way smarter than most people credited him with being. He’d have to be, to be able to keep up with Rodney. There was plenty of evidence of John’s intellect from the comments and questions that he used to prod the quirky Canadian down the right path.

“According to the information I’ve found, for the most part the gene seems to follow family bloodlines. The Ancients had a complex classification system and kept detailed records. With his permission, I acquired samples from General O’Neill for this project. He also sent me copies of all the DNA profiles they had at the SGC. I had not brought it to you yet because I wanted to do more research.”

John leaned forward, elbows on the table and an intent look on his face. “So what have you found so far?”

He paused and took another swallow of water. “In light of this, I went back and looked at the DNA of everyone in the original expedition. Those like Rodney, which the gene therapy worked on, had too many recessive pairs. The therapy I developed from your DNA remodeled some of the recessives, turning them into dominants, but it only gave them a low to moderate level gene, which is why none of those that received the gene are as powerful as you are.”

John leaned back in his chair. “That makes sense. You mentioned that the Ancients had a classification system?”

Carson nodded and opened a different file on his tablet. “They evaluated the mental and genetic strength of each member of their race. Once classified, that person’s education was geared towards what their gene would allow them to accomplish. Even though they liked to tamper with the genetics of other species, hence the Wraith, they rarely tampered with their own unless it was to quicken Ascension. In instances where a child was born with the recessive gene, they used a synthetic gene to activate it.”

John rubbed the back of his head. “Okaay, so why do you want to run this Genome project?”

 “I want to do this in order to find those individuals for whom the gene therapy will work and to trace the bloodlines.” He looked at John. “For instance, since you came to us, many of the medical staff in the mountain commented on how similar you and General O’Neill are, especially when it comes to using the Ancient tech. I’ve even had some approach me on trips to Earth and ask if the two o’ ye are related.”

John’s gaze went hooded. “O’Neill said the same thing while he was here and so has Carter. One thing confused me, though. O’Neill made the comment that using the Chair caused him brief moments of pain. I’ve only ever felt pain from the Chair when there was something wrong with the city. Kind of like bio-feedback. Otherwise, I’ve always found it to be very welcoming.”

Carson smiled at John’s statements. It was rare that John divulged any information on his interaction with the Chair and the City. Maybe he’d talk to Teyla and see if she could loosen John up enough so he’d share, possibly with the help of a bit of Glenfiddich. “I have a theory about that, too. We all know there is a mental component to using the higher end Ancient tech. I think the pain is psychosomatic for General O’Neill.”

John drummed his fingers on the table, a thoughtful look on his face. “I think you’re right, Carson. I went back and read the mission reports from SG-1 that had anything to do with Ancient tech. From the first interaction with the face-hugger to the Time Jumper to his sessions with the Antarctica Chair, O’Neill got the short, crappy end of the stick every time.

“Aye, except in the case of the Jumper.  I think he’s so leery of it because of that and he expects it to hurt, so his body provides the pain.” Carson paused to frame his next statement. “I also had another reason for speakin’ with ye today. I found out that Major General Dr. Thomas Brighton, the Deputy Surgeon General of the Air Force, is comin’ fer a visit. I wanted to let you know so ye could take precautions. I don’t want him or anyone else like The Trust gettin’ any bright ideas.”

“I appreciate that, Carson.” John glanced away for a moment. “I also have something you need to know. Since that trip to Timbre, Teyla and I share a mental bond.”

Carson was intrigued. It was unusual for John to divulge personal information so he decided to treat it as the gift it was. “In what way are the two o’ ye bound, lad? Is the bond empathic or telepathic?”

“Both, and it’s getting stronger. Teyla taught me how to protect myself and lately I’ve had to strengthen my shields. Fortunately, I caught the bleed off from others before it affected me too deeply.”

“Well, yer secret is safe with me, lad. I’ll check the database and see if they have anything that will reduce the sensitivity for those times when yer injured an’ may not be able to regulate yer shields.”

“Lantis told me the Ancients used what we call white noise.”

Carson was silent for a moment. “Aye, that would work and it would keep away suspicion.”

John cocked his head for a moment and Carson realized he was talking to the city.

“She says she’ll monitor me and generate the signal if I get in distress.”

“Excellent. Now, how bout we gather everyone and have some lunch?”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The next morning, John and Ronon took Dave on a running tour of Atlantis. With only a week until the wedding, the brothers wanted to spend time reconnecting. Over dinner the first evening, John told Dave that they now had another brother in Ronon and explained the circumstances. Dave had been a bit wary, but after watching Ronon spar with the troops, he realized that having the Satedan as a relative was a very good thing.

During the run, John frequently had to check his pace. Ronon was doing so out of deference for Dave, but John knew that he shouldn’t need to as well. Every so often he caught Ronon eyeing him. The big guy had noticed. When they swung back to their tower after a short version of their morning run, Dave headed in to shower and check his email.

“Wanna go one more round?” Ronon said.

The big guy wasn’t even breathing hard, but then again, neither was John. “Sure.” He caught the look of surprise on Ronon’s face at his answer.

“You feelin’ alright, Sheppard?”

John peered up at Ronon, noticing the concern etched on his features. “Yeah, I feel good. Better than I have in a long time.”

Ronon was silent for a time as they headed off. John thought he’d decided to drop it then Ronon spoke up.

“You think it has something to do with that device?”

John’s feet carried him on automatic as his brain mulled over his recent incidents. “It’s possible, Chewie. According to Carson that’s most likely, but he’s not sure if it’s from the Ascension device currently being disassembled in Lab Twelve or if it’s from what Praxis did to fix me.”

Silence reigned for several more yards until Ronon broke it again. “I think it’s from Praxis’ fix. Last time you could run like this you ended up turning blue.”

John grimaced at the reminder. “Thanks.” Sarcasm dripped from his voice. “At least you didn’t say the other “B” word.”

Ronon flashed white teeth. “You’re welcome.”

“I think so too. Glad someone else agrees with me.”

They pounded along for about a quarter of a mile before Ronon broke the silence one more time. “Noticed it during the sparring yesterday too. Never seen you take on four guys and barely break a sweat.”

“I’m pretty sure Teyla also noticed. She didn’t say anything because we had my brother underfoot. But she kept giving me odd, thoughtful looks.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

With John tied up with a meeting, Dave, armed with a tablet and a locator bracelet, took the opportunity to explore the city. It was too bad Julia couldn’t come. They’d have to come for a return visit. He’d already spoken to O’Neill about it. By the time Dave got back home, Julia would have already received a visitor bearing gifts in the form of a non-disclosure agreement.

Dave wandered into the Gateroom. A slender, dark haired technician who introduced herself as Amelia directed him to an out of the way observation point.

Dave decided to watch the comings and goings through the Gate. Amelia informed him that three teams were due soon. The first team, belonging to Major Waters, arrived without a hitch. They had barely cleared the marked embarkation area when the second team came in. This double-sized team, led by Lieutenant Reynolds, escorted a handful of scientists. One of the Marines carrying a load of boxes stumbled and dropped several. A few popped open and spilled their contents.

“Hey, Brody!” Reynolds said sharply. “Make sure you get all the samples back in the boxes!”

The Marine in question acknowledged the admonishment and hurriedly collected the various sample containers. Dave thought he saw the man tuck a silvery box into his pack, but with the bad angle he wasn’t sure, so he didn’t say anything.

Dave stayed in the Gateroom and watched the flow of the city’s traffic until a discrete cough drew his focus in. He glanced towards the back stairs and found John leaning against the wall.

“Hey, Dave, we’ve got a picnic basket. Gonna have lunch on the Mainland. Want to join us?”

He eyed his brother thoughtfully. John had taken the time to change clothes before coming to collect him. Gone was the neat Military Commander. In his place was the rumpled and deceptively laid-back version of the brother he’d grown up with. As he looked closer, he noticed a hint of fatigue around his eyes and in his posture. “Sure, little brother. Lunch on the Mainland sounds great.”

John rolled his eyes as they headed for the Jumper bay. “Hey, can the little brother stuff while you’re here. After you leave, I still have to work with these guys.”

Dave shook his head. “John, there’s not a person on this base that would disrespect you for that. I’m sure you’re not the only guy here that has an older sibling.”

John hummed under his breath, but let the matter drop. Dave did have a point. The lights came up as he entered the Jumper bay and headed for Jumper One. It was one of the new ones they’d brought back from Praxis. It flew like a dream. Unlike the older jumpers, the new ones had overhead storage and safety harnesses. It seems the Ancients had discovered the need and altered the plans during the war against the Wraith.

John was halfway to his jumper when he realized he was alone. Turning, he spotted Dave rooted to the floor, as he stared at the jumpers. “Dave?”

“These actually fly?”

John chuckled, a rich sound that emanated from deep in his chest.  “Oh, yeah, they fly. They can go from underwater to atmospheric flight to deep space with no trouble. Their shape allows them to fit through the Gate.”

“That’s amazing.” Dave breathed out.

John grabbed his arm and pulled him along. “C’mon. You can sit up front.” Once they were inside the jumper, John mentally reached out and the ramp rose without the touch of a single button. Teyla, Torren, Ronon, Amelia, Jeannie, Kaleb, Madison and Rodney were already in the back of the jumper. After the two brothers settled in the cockpit, John quickly performed his preflight checks while Dave stared at the controls.  “Control, this is Jumper One. Opening the roof and heading for the Mainland.”

_“Roger, Jumper One. Destination logged. Enjoy your picnic, Colonel.”_

John’s mouth turned up in a quirky smile. “Thanks, Salawi. Leave the porch light on for us.”

An amused chuckle filled his radio. _“Will do, Colonel. Control out.”_

Hands lightly touching the controls, John guided the Jumper up and out. Next to him, Dave leaned forward as he took in the grandeur that was Atlantis.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” John said.

“Magnificent.” Dave gazed at his brother with a new respect. “Now I see why you said your work is important.”

“My job is to protect the city and everyone inside her. In turn she helps me do my job and protect those that are most important to me,” he pointed over his shoulder, “my family.”

“Still, if you ever need a job, there’s a place for you at the company. You, Teyla and anyone else you want will always have a place. I had a talk with O’Neill and he gave me the requirements needed in order to manufacture some of the Alterran tech that the geeks have managed to reverse engineer or translate the plans for. As soon as Julia’s clearance goes through, we’re going to get things going.”

John turned towards Dave, a grin lighting his face. “That’s great! A lot of those devices can solve some of Earth’s energy problems. The issue is going to be fighting the board over profits.”

Dave grimaced. “Yeah, that’s one fight you could make a difference in. We are the majority stockholders and our voices have a lot of weight. A concerted push by the two of us to make the technology affordable will go a long way with the stockholders.”

“Let me know and I’ll be there.” John leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms. “I may not take an active role, but I have kept up with things best as I can.”

“I’ll start sending you copies of the reports I receive as well as the stuff the shareholders get.” Dave glanced over to gauge his reaction and noticed John’s posture. “Shouldn’t your hands be on the controls?”

John cracked one eye open to gaze at his brother. “I am flying it. I can control the jumper without ever touching the controls. I just usually keep my hands on while flying to increase the feedback I get. Here, I’ll show you.” John turned towards the back and called out a warning. “Hey, everyone buckle in. I’m gonna show Dave what this baby can do.”

“Oh, god, he’s gonna kill us all!” Rodney’s lament floated forward.

“Hush, Mer,” Jeannie said.

“No, he will not. You know that John is an experienced pilot,” Teyla said.

“Yeah, Sheppard’s flown us home concussed and with a broken arm and still landed on a coin.” Ronon said.

“Now why doesn’t that surprise me?” Dave said. He turned and leaned out slightly to look into the back. “And I’ll bet he said he was fine, didn’t he?”

“Oh yes, and tried to refuse going to the infirmary. I hurt my foot and Carson made me walk!” Rodney huffed. “Mr. ‘I’m okay even though I can’t see straight’ tried walking and passed out in the hallway. It was a good thing Ronon was behind him or your brother would have splattered his brains all over the floor!”

“Rodney, Carson bade you walk because you merely stubbed your toe,” Teyla said. “And John would not have fallen if you had not shoved him into a column while attempting to hop along the corridor.”

A thought occurred to John and he looked over at Dave. “While you were at the SGC did they test you for the Ancient gene?”

“Hmmm?” Dave considered John’s question. “I know they ran a blood test, but I don’t remember anyone mentioning a DNA test.”

“Rodney,” John called over his shoulder, “do you have one of the extra LSDs back there?”

“Yeah, gimme a minute. Why don’t you use the one with you?”

“I _would,_ but _someone_ didn’t return it last time he _borrowed_ it.”

The lack of an answer meant that John had scored a hit. Rodney stepped into the cockpit and thrust a device into Dave’s hand.

To Dave it looked like a range finder in a pearly white case. “Okay, so what do I do with this?”

“Think _on_.”

Dave stared at the quiescent device in his hand. He felt slightly foolish, but he did as John suggested. Immediately, the device lit and the outline of a shape appeared with several dots in it. “What is this?”

John grinned at Dave. “Well, big brother, welcome to the club.”

Dave looked up. “Is this a trick?”

Rodney shook his head. “No, no trick. We figured you’d have the gene since Sheppard’s is so strong, but sometimes it skips family members. We’ll have to test you to see how strong yours is.”

John’s expression sobered. “Rodney, I don’t want this in any records. We’ll run the test, but keep it under the radar. No recordings and only use people we trust.”

“Yes, of course,” Rodney said. “I swear your military paranoia has rubbed off on me. I actually understood what you’re getting at.”

Dave started to hand the detector back but John put his hand out for it. At Rodney’s sheepish nod, Dave placed it in John’s hand and he immediately placed it in its compartment.

Dave ran one hand through his hair and let out an explosive sigh. “So, what’s this testing you’re talking about?”

John waved a hand for Rodney to tell him. “Essentially, we sit you in the Chair and run a series of tests to see if you can run certain systems and to determine how easily you can access those systems. The evaluation starts off with very rudimentary functions and progresses from there.”

“So it’s like a video game,” Dave said. “You start with the basics and work your way up to the big boss.”

Rodney huffed. “If you want to put it in such pedantic terms, yes.” He turned to John. “Being the head of a huge corporation, I figured that he would be above such simplifications.”

The brothers had twin looks of mischief. “Why Rodney, putting aside your genius intellect, it’s alarming that you berate your associates simply for putting a set of actions into layman’s terms. The ability to make one’s self understood by all is a sign of high intelligence.” John said.

“Yes, Dr. McKay, it is as my sibling said. It has been noted in numerous psychology journals that browbeating others with the foundations of one’s superior intellect when coupled with an obsessive tendency towards sesquipedalianism is a sign of overcompensation for a perceived shortfall.” Dave said with a serious look on his face although the mischief in his eyes matched John’s.

Rodney’s jaw dropped in disbelief even as Teyla, Amelia, Jeannie, Kaleb and Ronon burst out in laughter. Madison was too young to understand what had been said, but she joined in the laughter.

“John, please tell me these things have in-flight recorders,” Jeannie said.

John turned, caught her eye and winked at her.

“Hah hah, very funny.” Looking out the windshield, Rodney noticed that they were at their destination. “Okay flyboy, time to earn your pay and land this thing. Unless you’re planning to turn this into a diving platform.”

An evil light sparked in John’s eyes. “Y’know, that’s a great idea!” He kicked off his shoes and took off his khakis, revealing black swim trunks. His t-shirt quickly followed.

Teyla decided that she would wait and wade in from the beach as she felt diving could be dangerous to their unborn child.

Grasping John’s intentions, Ronon and Amelia also undressed to their bathing suits while Teyla secured Torren into a miniature life vest. Jeannie and Madison decided to dive in as well. Once everyone was ready, John lowered the ramp. “Dave, Rodney, Kaleb, you coming?”

Kaleb shook his head. “I’m not that good of a swimmer.”

Rodney backed away. “No! No way, Sheppard! Get your scrawny butt back in this seat and land this thing!” He pushed at the controls ineffectively. “You know I can’t override your commands!”

John winked at Dave while Rodney’s back was turned. “The jumper can maintain altitude just fine without me in it. Dave?”

Dave stood and walked cautiously to the open ramp. “I’ll pass, John. I’m a bit rusty when it comes to diving.”

John handed Torren to Dave. “Okay, then you can lower TJ down once we hit water.”

Torren held out his arms. “I wanna come wi’ you, daddy.”

John captured Torren’s hands in his larger ones. “You will soon, buddy, once you get bigger. But Uncle Dave’s gonna hold you so you can watch, then he’ll lower you to me and you can swim in with me, okay?”

“Otay, Daddy, I stay wit Unca Dabe.”

Dave moved to one side and used a tether to secure himself and his little charge to the Jumper. When the coast cleared, Ronon made a short run then jumped from the end of the ramp. He tucked into a roll over and then hit the water feet first with a small splash. Amelia leapt, arms spread wide and feet pointed before she bent into a jackknife. She straightened and brought her arms up over her head just before she hit the water. Jeannie and Madison followed Amelia's example.  John took his running start, reached the end of the ramp and leaped out and up. He tucked his arms and knees in and did two full rotations before he opened up into a beautiful spiral, arms out and pointed above his head; his long, lean body stretched out behind them. He entered the water and disappeared beneath the surface without a splash.

“Showoff,” Rodney said as he readied the winch.

After lowering Torren to his Daddy, those left in the Jumper settled in and watched the four in the water. Ronon and John were very cautious with Torren as they made their way to shore. Once they reached the beach, John climbed the nearest hill and turned his gaze on the Jumper. Dave was startled when the HUD flashed and the Jumper started moving again. It landed smoothly on the beach.

Rodney brought out his sunscreen and made sure everyone was protected. The group played in the water for a while and then had lunch. After lunch, while everyone else played in the surf, John stretched out on a lounger to catch some sun and Torren took a short nap under one of the umbrellas. Rodney joined in the water sports for a short time, but mainly stayed on the beach, under another umbrella with his laptop. John joined the surf revelers with Torren after the toddler woke from his nap.

They played in the water and on the beach until sundown. They ate dinner then roasted marshmallows and told stories until it neared Torren’s bedtime. They packed the remaining items in the Jumper and headed home.

Jack and Sam were in the Gateroom when the Jumper arrived. They turned to watch John and his extended family exit the Jumper Bay. Ronon and Amelia were first. A bare-chested Ronon sported a pair of Hawaiian print shorts while Amelia kept glaring at any woman that looked his way. Rodney, Teyla, John, and Dave exited together with Torren cradled in John’s arms. Jeannie and her family were right behind them.

“… told you to make sure and pack your sunscreen,” Jeannie said.

“Enough” Rodney said.  “I forgot, alright? I was busy reading a proof that Simmons submitted.”

“You should be glad Teyla remembered to pack some, otherwise you’d look like a lobster and I’d have to find someone to take your place in the wedding party.” John said.

Dave just shook his head as they exited the Gateroom.

Jack looked over at Sam and clapped his hands together. “Well, the kids are all home. We can turn the porch light off now.”

Sam came up behind him and ushered him out of the room, muttering under her breath about doing a study on the inverse relationship between mental age and physical age.


	12. Freedom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! Well, Here's a new chapter! Sorry for the delay but RL has sucked lately. Thanks goes to my wonderful beta, Nacimynom.  
> Also, I apologize to anyone that got double vision. There was some repetition between chapters 9 and 11 in the infirmary scene. That has been corrected and new stuff added.
> 
> Thanks to all of you that leave kudos or comments. They are appreciated.
> 
> Enjoy!

After spending the previous day with everyone else, John and Teyla opted for a quiet night together. Between the cat incident and their guests’ arrival, they hadn’t spent much time alone. Rodney, Ronon and Amelia were entertaining Dave, Torren, and Rodney’s family.

While Teyla was in the shower, John took the opportunity to make sure he had everything he needed for the night. Teyla’s increasing girth had pushed the boundaries of his inventiveness when it came to sex, but there was no mistaking her enjoyment of his attentions.

Dressed only in loose loungewear, they had dinner on their balcony and watched the sun set, while they undressed each other with their eyes. They reveled in the peace until John saw Teyla shiver slightly.

John slid over and wrapped his arms around her. “C’mere, sweetie, I’ll warm you up.”

Teyla rested her head on his shoulder. “Of that I have no doubt.” Feeling something hard against her hip, she chuckled. “Certain parts of you are very warm.”

John bent towards her lips. “It’s only for you. No other woman has ever affected me the way you do.” Capturing her lips, John kissed her until they were both moaning. John scooped her up and carried her to their bedroom. He carefully lowered her to sit on the edge of the bed against a mound of pillows before he kneeled in front of her. When she tried to slide back, John captured her ankles to stop her, his hands slowly caressing their way up her legs. Once they reached the firm curves of her butt, John tugged her forward until she sat on the edge of the bed.

“John.”

“Shhh.” He stood and cupped her face in his large hands. He kissed her deeply before laying her back on the bed. Kneeling once again, his fingers slid along silky skin until they found the edge of her lacy panties. He gently tugged them loose and slowly slid them down her legs.  His fingers trailed along her skin to ignite the fires of passion. He tossed the dainty scrap of lace aside and slid his hands along Teyla’s silken thighs once again, parting the way to her center.  He brought the tip of his nose a hair’s breadth from her and inhaled deeply, her scent washed through him, stoking the fires within even higher. With his tongue, he traced the edges of her folds before darting inside to tease her. The quick shifts in her breathing telegraphed his success.

John probed deeper into her moist center and found the most sensitive of spots. Curling the tip of his tongue, he applied a little extra pressure. Hearing her breathing shift to sharp pants mixed in with little cries of pleasure spurred him to increase his efforts. He felt her muscles tighten just before she cried out in ecstasy.

He stood up and pulled the low bench at the foot of their bed into his place. He kneeled on it and caressed her folds with the tip of his shaft as she descended from her orgasm. Once her breathing slowed, he pushed in just enough to tease her further. Her back arched as he stroked her most intimate places. . Her breathing sped up and her moans of pleasure joined his. John maintained a steady pace even though Teyla’s cries were making him ache for release. He maintained his self-control until she started to tighten on him as she peaked and peaked again. The amazing sensations drove him to his own fireworks. Spent at last, John slid from her body and crawled up the bed. He reached the pillows, tugged Teyla up to lie beside him and flipped the blanket to cover them. With Teyla snuggled against his chest, John allowed his hand to caress her belly and sent thoughts of love to their child before he gave in to exhaustion and fell asleep.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The next night after dinner, Rodney and Lorne herded John, Dave, Cam and Jack into one of the rec rooms. Carson, Ronon, Radek, Teal’c and Stackhouse were already there. There was a tub with ice, pitchers of water, cold beer, cookies, pretzels and popcorn and they had _Star Trek III_ already cued up.

Everyone grabbed a beer, John made sure to grab a bowl of popcorn, and they all settled in to watch the movie.

After the movie, John felt the need to stretch his legs. The rec room had a small balcony that was rarely used which made it perfect for him. He’d only had two beers then switched to water. The wedding was tomorrow and he did not want to deal with a hangover. He rested his elbows on the rail and stared out across the water to watch the moonlit waves break against the pier.

A whisper of sound alerted him to someone joining him. He glanced over his shoulder. “Hi Dave.”

Dave joined him at the rail. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m good.”

Dave turned and gave his brother a look.

John raised his hands to ward his brother off. “Enough with the death glare.” He turned back to the ocean. “Truthfully, I’m nervous as hell.”

“Nervous?” Dave was amazed. “It’s obvious that you and Teyla are made for each other. Plus, none of the things that drove you and Nancy apart exist between the two of you. Teyla and I talked.  She is well aware of your strengths and weaknesses. She knows that there are things that, as Military Commander of this city, you can’t tell her and she accepts that.”

John shook his head. “It’s not that. I keep thinking about what Mom and Dad would have thought of Teyla and,” he gestured around at the city, “all of this.”

Dave was silent for a few minutes as he allowed his thoughts to stray down old paths. “Well, Mom would have loved this. As soon as she found out about Teyla, she’d probably have started hinting for grandkids. The fact that you didn’t even get together until a year and a half ago would have made no difference. The first time she saw you and you started talking about Teyla, Mom would have known in an instant.”

John reached up and rubbed his neck. “Yeah, Mom always could read me.” He grimaced. “Dad, on the other hand …”

Dave was silent for a moment as he considered his words. “I … think Dad would have surprised you. Granted, he would have been happier if you had joined the company, but he mellowed in his later years.”

“I still have a hard time believing that though.”

“I think he would have liked Teyla. She’s strong and she puts up with you.”

“Gee, thanks.” John drawled.

Dave grinned. “Hey, I’m just telling it as I see it.”

John started to retort, but Ronon chose that moment to intervene. He threw a long arm across their shoulders.

“C’mon, Sheppard. This is your party!” Ronon tugged them to face the doorway. “It’s your last night as a free man.”

John’s face split into a goofy grin. “Buddy, I lost my freedom a long time ago.”

Ronon burst into laughter as he dragged the Sheppards back to the party.

The party ran late but eventually even the hardiest partier gave in. With all the off-world visitors, there were too many chances for mischief and everyone needed to be alert. The partiers bunked down in the rec room, except for Rodney. He used his bad back as an excuse and slipped out as soon as he could. The rest ended up with cots, air mattresses or sleeping bags. It seemed that Athos and Sateda shared the Earth tradition of the groom not seeing the bride before the wedding so Ronon pitched his sleeping bag across the doorway and John wound up with one of the air mattresses against the wall furthest from the door. Unfortunately, John was not drunk enough to be able to tune out Ronon’s inebriated snoring so he tugged his mattress onto the balcony, snagged an extra blanket and fell asleep to the sound of the ocean far below.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

At almost the same time, Amelia and Marie had a similar get together for Teyla. The ladies went to a rec room on the other side of the city from the men. Miko, Dusty, Ann Teldy and Anne Porter were waiting along with Eva Robinson. They had a bowl of punch, cake and other refreshments with _Change of Plans_ in the disc player. Just before the movie started, Kari and Emily - the two nurses that helped her bathe John after the cat versus dog-thing fight - slipped in, followed by Kris Hardy and Sergeant Louise Seifert.

Each woman gave Teyla a hug and wished her and John much happiness.

“Liz, Linda, Sandy and Monica will be here later,” Louise told her. “Linda is on duty in the Infirmary, Liz is in the xenobiology lab checking on a set of DNA tests and Sandy and Monica have an experiment running that they couldn’t leave.”

“I understand. I am happy that they will be here later.”

The first movie was just finishing when the missing quartet walked in. Linda and Liz headed for the punch bowl; Monica chucked her jacket onto a coat rack while Sandy dropped onto a chair and kicked her shoes off. Monica crossed the room to hug Teyla. “Hey, have I missed anything?”

“Just the first movie.”

Monica picked up the DVD case. “Hmmm, _Change of Plans_. That Joe Flanigan is cute. He looks a lot like our Colonel, doesn’t he?”

Teyla smiled, mischief lighting her eyes. “Yes, I noticed that. It is a very uncanny resemblance.”

Sandy leaned over to peek. “Oh, he certainly does look a lot like the Colonel.” She stuck out her bottom lip in a pout as she glared at Monica. “Now I’ll have to borrow the movie and it’s all your fault.”

Louise and Linda came over, each carrying two cups of punch. “What’s the next movie?” Louise asked as she handed Monica one of the cups.

“ _Kate and Leopold_ ,” Linda chimed in.

“Oooh, I like that one.” Louise clapped her hands.

The ladies actually turned in earlier than the guys. They had more to do to get ready and needed to be well-rested. Dusty took the position of door guard and Teyla was given an adjustable hospital gurney to sleep on. Carson had insisted when he found out about the party as he didn’t want Teyla to injure herself or the baby trying to rise from a cot or an air mattress.

She found it difficult to sleep without having John beside her. She had grown quite accustomed to falling asleep snuggled in his embrace and listening to his soft breathing. She reached through their bond and touched his mind. He immediately sent back his love and happiness, his joy at finally making their union official flowed from his core. With the warmth of his mind blanketing hers, she fell asleep, the waves below a soothing counterpoint.


	13. Wedding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in posting. RL ate a lot of my writing time.
> 
> Thanks to all of you that have bookmarked, subscribed or left kudos. I appreciate every one of you!
> 
> Thanks to Nacimynom for the awesome beta! Thanks also to Mysra for her help with the wedding vows.

The auditorium was full. Everyone in the city that could attend had done so. Those that couldn’t were watching on the monitors. John paced, too nervous to sit still. He was glad that Torren was with Aleeah instead of him because the kid was way too sensitive to his emotions and would be a wreck.

Dave watched in amusement as his younger brother tried to wear a hole in the floor. “John, relax. You and Teyla have been friends for years and you both know what you’re getting into. The issues that drove you and Nancy apart don’t exist here.”

John stopped. He took a deep breath and plopped down on the couch. “I know. I’m just hoping everything goes off without a hitch.”

Dave leaned forward. “John, trust me and trust your friends. They have put a lot of effort into making this day perfect for you and Teyla. Hell, with all the off-world attendees, every military asset in the crowd is armed.”

John rubbed his neck. “I’d be more surprised if they weren’t. I’ve got a 9mil in my shoulder holster with two extra magazines and two more pistols strapped to my calves.” He took a drink of water and leaned back, resting his head on the couch. “You know, when I married Nancy, I was so restless and nervous that I was sick to my stomach before the ceremony. Dad was so worried that he called Dr. Gouder and had him give me a Valium.”

Dave cocked his head slightly. “Ah, that explains it. I always wondered why you were so mellow during the ceremony and why you didn’t dance much at the reception.”

At that moment, the door opened and Woolsey stuck his head in. “Colonel, it’s time.”

John stood and tugged his jacket into place. “Thanks, Richard.” Turning to his brother, John motioned towards the door. “Shall we?”

Dave slapped John on the shoulder. “Yeah, let’s go get you married, old man - your warrior princess is waiting.”

John looked askance at his brother. “Have you been hanging out with Rodney?”

Dave laughed as he steered John out the door. “No, but it fits. She’s a warrior and she’s the former leader of her people.”

In the hall, they were met by Ronon and Rodney. Both were wearing black suits as was Dave. Dave was Best Man while Rodney and Ronon were his Groomsmen.

Outside the auditorium, John heard music start up and had to smile. Radek had decided to play the instrumental version of _Wild Blue Yonder_ as his entrance music. Entering, John was in the lead, Dave on his left, Rodney to his right and Ronon on his six. He grinned a bit at realizing that they had fallen into their standard team formation. Once they reached the flower bedecked awning where the ceremony would take place, John took his position to Caldwell’s left and the other men fell in line beside him. As he calmed his racing pulse, John scanned the audience. The auditorium was resplendent with color, Marine green and Air Force blue the majority with the varied native dress of the scattered groups of Athosians and other allies marking a sharp contrast.

An Athosian tri-armed Unity candle and two tapers sat on a nearby pedestal. Tradition said that the light of the candle symbolized the blessings of the Ancestors. Once both of the outer arms were lit, the central pillar would light. The higher the flame and the closer it was to a pure white, the more blessed the union was said to be. The record for the highest flame was three inches; at least that’s what Camy, the sociologist who specialized in ceremonies, told them.

A moment of silence preceded the start of the bridal procession. When the music began to play, John recognized it as an Athosian air and figured that Radek had conspired with Halling to get a recording of the music. John turned to face the doors as they opened.

Madison entered first. She wore a pale blue, calf-length dress and held a basket of flower petals in her hand which she spread as she walked. Next were Amelia, Jennifer and Julia in dresses a shade darker and with long skirts. As the ladies took their places to Caldwell’s right, the entire assemblage stood and turned towards the doors. The doors opened once again to admit Teyla and Jack. He had been very pleased when Teyla had asked him to escort her as her parents were both deceased. By her reasoning, if it had not been for him, she would have never met John, so she felt it very fitting. No one had disagreed with her.

Jack and Teyla paused in the doorway to allow everyone to get their first glimpse of her magnificence. Her dress was white; the fitted bodice sparkled with tiny diamonds scattered across it like stars in the sky. Because of her pregnancy, the skirt was full and flowing, coming to her ankles and allowing the low heels she had on to show when she moved. Her hair had been pulled up and secured except for two tendrils either side of her face that fell in a loose spiral. Instead of a veil or tiara, she wore a wreath of native flowers and carried a bouquet of similar flowers.

After a suitable pause, Teyla and Jack started down the aisle. John’s eyes met Teyla’s and it was like the rest of the world ceased to exist. Seeing his fixation, Ronon nudged Rodney and the two shared a smile. Dave caught them out of the corner of his eye and shared a questioning look at Ronon who nodded slightly in John’s direction. Seeing his brother’s obliviousness, Dave joined in, a smile of his own lighting his face. The spell was broken when Teyla glanced down to watch her footing on the stair that led to the stage. John shook himself and took a deep breath to focus as he waited for his bride.

At the awning where John waited for his bride, Jack kissed Teyla on the cheek before placing her hand in John’s. “I’m proud of you both for finally making it this far,” he whispered. “Don’t screw it up.”

John smiled as he accepted Teyla’s hand. “No, Sir.”

Jack stepped back and quickly exited the stage, joining Sam in the front row.

After clearing his throat, Caldwell began the ceremony. “Ladies and Gentlemen, we are gathered here today to witness the bonding of Colonel John Sheppard and Teyla Emmagen in Holy Unity. These two people have journeyed far to find each other, and now having done so, have decided to commit to spending the rest of their lives together, taking one road instead of two, sharing in the burdens and joys of life forevermore.”

“To show their love and commitment to each other, Colonel Sheppard and Miss Emmagen decided to write their own vows. Let us all now bear witness to their vows as they prepare for a lifetime together.”

John and Teyla stepped to one side then turned towards each other. John took a deep breath, picked up a taper from the pedestal in front of them and lit it. “Teyla, you made me the happiest man in two galaxies the day you asked me to marry you. I have loved you from the moment I saw you in that tent on Athos. My heart has beat for you, and only you, since that day. You are my sun, bringing warmth and light to the dark, cold places of my soul.” He touched the taper to the three armed candle in front of them. “You are the air I breathe, filling my wings and supporting me as I fly. My only regret is that it took me so long to tell you. I would live for you. I would die for you. You are my everything.” Uttering the last word, John placed Teyla’s ring upon her finger.

Gazing into John’s eyes, hazel touched with gold and glittering with emotion, Teyla breathed deeply as she picked up and lit her own taper. “John, from the day I met you I have considered myself to be the most fortunate of women for I had you as a friend. I too have loved you from the minute you stepped forward on Athos, your eyes seeming to see deeply into my soul.” She lit the arm of the candle nearest her. “You brought laughter to fill my silence, joy to ease my pains and love to fill my heart. Throughout this universe, no matter where I go, I shall always find my way back to you for you are my fixed star.” Glancing down, she slipped his ring upon his hand.

Hand in hand, they stepped back to watch the Unity candle. At first nothing happened. Some of the Athosians in the audience started to mutter. The audience gasped in awe as the flame flared up, a brilliant white as long as John’s hand from the base of his palm to the tip of his longest finger. With the blessing secured, the couple moved back to their original places in front of Caldwell.

Caldwell stepped forward, his arms spread to either side. “Colonel, Miss Emmagen, by the powers vested in me by the United States Air Force and Stargate Command, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Colonel, you may now kiss your bride.”

John raised his hands, cupping Teyla’s face as his lips moved in to capture hers. Teyla placed her hands on his hips as she melted into his kiss, everything faded around them as John teased and conquered her mouth, her response sweet and playful. His hands slid to her shoulders before continuing down her back. Their lips danced with each other until they came up for air to the sound of clapping and cheers. John blushed lightly at showing so much affection in public. The blush faded as he realized the thought no longer made him uncomfortable. Being professional while on duty was one thing, but they could express their love when not on duty without having to wait for privacy.

Gently turning John and Teyla towards the crowd, Caldwell cleared his throat. “Ladies and Gentlemen, I now present to you Colonel John Sheppard and Ms. Teyla Emmagan Sheppard.”

More cheers erupted at the final pronouncement. The Marine Honor Guard, resplendent in their dress blues, was lined up along the aisle, gleaming silver sabers held straight at their sides. John and Teyla paused at the start of the gauntlet; the sabers were raised in salute, and then extended to form an arch. As they passed each pair, the sabers were lowered to form a barrier behind them.

Once past the honor guard the newly married couple retired to the room where John and Dave had waited. The rest of the wedding party had preceded them there. Dave handed both a glass of water while they waited for the photographer. Monica Nykos, one of the scientists that Teyla was friends with, had volunteered to take the photos of the wedding party.

Once Monica was ready, the wedding party moved to one of the nearby lounges. There were low couches scattered around and the outer wall of the room consisted of floor to ceiling windows. Monica took many pictures to play off the stunning backdrops provided by the ocean and the Atlantis skyline.

Pictures done, the group headed for the reception. They could hear it before they got there, music already playing, people talking and having fun. Radek spotted the group as they paused in the doorway.

“Ladies and gentlemen, honored guests, I would like to present to you the bride and groom.”

A round of cheering broke out as John and Teyla stepped through the doorway. They took their places at the long table erected across one end of the room as everyone else found places.

Dave waited until everyone found a seat then gently tapped a glass. “Everyone, thank you for coming. For those of you that don’t know me, I am David Sheppard, your Colonel’s older brother. Having watched John and Teyla for these past days, I could see how much they love each other. Those of you that have lived and worked with them for all these years probably felt this a day long in coming.” He took a drink before continuing. “John and I missed out on a lot over the last two decades, but I can say that I am proud of him, happy that he found his soul mate and glad that we have been able to reconnect. I regret the years we spent apart, but I am proud of my brother. Our father wanted John to join the family business, but out mother always said he was destined to go far.” He gestured at the city around them. “I don’t think you can go much further than this.” Laughter and applause circled the room. “John, Teyla, I love you both and wish you a long life together filled with love, happiness and joy.”

“Hear, hear!”

Lunch was served interspersed with speeches. Some of them were embarrassing but most were filled with fond memories, funny anecdotes and tons of wishes for a happy future.

John and Teyla took the floor for the first dance after everyone finished lunch. Dave expected a traditional waltz or something from the Athosians, but Radek played _When You Say Nothing At All_ by Ronan Keating. As he listened to the lyrics, Dave smiled when he realized they fit John to a T. He didn’t know how well they referred to Teyla, but he had a sneaking suspicion that they were pretty spot on for her too. He watched the happy couple as they glided across the floor. John had always been a good dancer and it seemed that Teyla was no slouch in the grace department. Even when the song ended and other couples joined them on the dance floor, they continued to move as if they were the only ones out there. For them, there was only the other. They danced and swayed to yet a third song before the spell broke between them and they left the dance floor.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Jack and Sam waited until the crowd around the newlyweds thinned some before approaching. Watching the two of them reminded him of both his weddings – his first to Sara and his second to Sam. They had finally given in and married during one of her layovers on Earth. With their positions it meant they spent a lot of time apart, but they made up for it when together. They waited for the latest well-wisher to move off before pulling up seats to either side of the couple.

Jack was debating what to say when Sam deftly took over. “John, Teyla, we’re so glad that the two of you finally got together.”

John flushed slightly. “Were we that obvious?”

“Only to those that could read either of you. I’ve heard a lot of comments from people that didn’t know the two of you were engaged.”

John shook his head. “We haven’t kept that a secret. We don’t molest each other in the Gate Room, but we do show affection towards each other when circumstances allow.”

Jack cleared his throat. “It’s because the two of you are so professional most of the time and very private the rest. Take it from a pro; it’s not easy to get a read on you unless you allow it. But, enough about that. Sam and I came to deliver your wedding present from the President.”

Sam handed John the envelope she carried and he opened it carefully. They watched as Teyla leaned in and the couple read the letter together.

“Operational command?”

“Yep.” Jack nodded. “Armstrong wanted to do it when you got promoted, but ended up having to wait until Atlantis made it back to Pegasus. Then, since I was here during the dustup with Queen Death, it was delayed again by the Secretary of Defense. Apparently, there was a bit of confusion in the regs about giving theatre command to a junior officer over a senior even if they’re the same rank. That got fixed recently with authority going to base or local commanders instead of visiting officers unless there were extenuating circumstances. Now there won’t be any repeats of the Asuras incident where Ellis overruled you. You are the resident authority out here. If Colonel Everett had listened to you, the Siege would not have been as bad.”

“But…” John began but Jack cut him off.

“I told Hank that Everett was not the right person to send but he was available. He was told to listen to your advice, but that went out the door as soon as he stepped through the Gate. Hank thinks he saw it as a chance to be a big hero. Y’know, save the city, gain the gratitude of the resident personnel and the brass and get yourself a cushy billet.”

“Enough of that, Jack.” Sam swatted her husband on the arm. “It’s their wedding. We don’t need to drag up old memories of that type. Besides, don’t you have another present?”

Jack patted his pockets then found the second envelope. “This is your other present from the President. I think you’ll like this one better.”

John opened the missive and pulled out a letter. His hands shook slightly as he read it. It was the signed adoption paperwork for Torren making him John’s son officially. John smiled and leaned into Teyla, their foreheads meeting in an Athosian embrace.

Jack smiled as he realized that the pair had been hugging in public for years, just no one recognized the significance of the Athosian gesture.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Brody watched from a back corner. The Colonel and Teyla looked very happy together, but seeing them only increased his sorrow, their joy left the taste of ashes in his mouth. It should be his sister up there, not some alien who probably bought her way onto a Gate team on her back. Cordelia loved … had loved Sheppard, but Sheppard only used her. He played with her emotions then said she was crazy when the situation backfired. He’d earned everything that was coming to him. He just wished Cordelia could be here to see it.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Carl Dieter paused in the shadows, Brody silent beside him. The reception was in full swing and there were only a few guards posted. The Dolorians had brought a cartload of birds that resembled parrots in cages. Their chief rattled off some drivel that the birds carried the blessings of the Ancestors. All he knew was that Brody planned to use them to deliver their surprise.

He checked the security feed for approaching guards before turning his recorded loop on. He nodded to Brody who slipped out to where the caged birds were. A surprised seabird fluttered up as he watched as Brody counted them off to make sure their surprise would go in the right cage. A pair of loud squawks sounded as Brody reached into his chosen cage and Dieter turned away and covered his ears. Bloodshed of any kind made him nauseous. He didn’t see what Brody slipped in and the man had refused to tell him, but he had been assured that it would be something the supercilious Colonel would never forget.

He focused on the pier just as Brody finished and hurried back inside. Once he was out of the viewing area for the cameras he released the interruption in the feed and removed his loop. The pair walked off and went separate directions, both impatiently waiting for the next day.

 


	14. Celebration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to all of you that have read this story. I appreciate the kudos and comments! Thanks for your support.

The reception lasted well into the morning but John and Teyla snuck out around 1100 hours. It had been a restless night and long day for both of them and they had plans that did not include company. Food and drink flowed and everyone enjoyed themselves. Radek had set up a good mixture of music so everyone would be comfortable. When he retired for the evening, one of the Marines took over, and kept the music going until 0200. Guest rooms had been set aside in one of the towers and Lorne, Teldy and Stackhouse had made sure there would be no late-night wanderers. There was a second day of festivities arranged for that evening which gave the attendees the whole day to recover.

Prior to the secondary festivities was the presentation of the gifts and blessings. Because of the nature of some of the gifts, it had been decided to hold the event on the North Pier. A gazebo had been erected to keep the newlyweds comfortable since they had to be present for the entire day with the only exceptions being occasional breaks. A table at the back of the gazebo held items that the couple had been gifted with. The event had started shortly after sunrise with blessings from several of their allies meant to ensure long life, happiness and fertility, although as one attendee remarked, the last was already obvious.

John stifled a yawn as he glanced over at the schedule. After the delegation from Manaria, next up was the group from Dolor. The delegation from Dolor consisted of their leader, Chieftain Hotan, their spiritual leader Ramsus and two bodyguards who were also assisting in the rite. The rite, as it had been explained, consisted of Hotan saying a few words then Ramsus blessing them before several cages of near-parrots were released. John and Teyla were to kneel before Ramsus while he blessed them before they released the birds.

The Manarians left the podium a few minutes later. While they waited on the Dolorians, John and Teyla slipped into the ceremonial mantles that had been brought for them. Chieftain Hotan made his way to the podium, accompanied by the other three men. He made his speech, telling how the Lanteans, and especially John and Teyla, had helped his world and wishing the couple many blessings. After he finished, Ramsus moved into place.

John helped Teyla up from their nest of cushions and walked to the prescribed point.

“Who approaches seeking the blessings of the Ancestors?” Ramsus intoned with a shake from a feathered rattle.

“We do, oh divine one.” Teyla replied. It was a good thing most of the responses were hers because John would’ve had a hard time keeping a straight face.

“Approach, children, so that the Ancestors may see you.”

John and Teyla paced closer and kneeled on the pillows placed nearby. Ramsus started his blessing chant. The couple made the appropriate responses. At the end of the blessing, Ramsus helped them stand and observed as they went to the cages. Teyla opened the first one, John the second, alternating with each successive cage. John opened the last cage and frowned when nothing flew out. Each of the other cages had held a mated pair of the colorful _maktaw_ birds. John shook the cage gently, in case the birds were asleep or scared to come out. When that produced no response, he knelt down to peer inside. No sooner had his knee touched the deck when he caught movement inside. Shaking it again, he called out to the birds.

“Hey, love birds, time to come out.” He spotted movement again just before something lunged at him. He had no time to react as a huge Iratus bug latched on to his neck, knocking him backwards. The pain was excruciating, worse than he remembered it. He heard himself scream as the bug started to feed. Then the world went black in a wash of pain.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Rodney was in his lab, working on some of his projects. He had decided to skip the “Day of Blessings”, as one of his more intelligent minions had called it. He had no desire to sit in the sun and listen to a bunch of speeches from barely literate natives that still believed their worlds were flat. He glanced up from berating one of his minions to see Ronon lounging in his doorway, grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

“Next time, follow proper procedure and check your figures before you bring it to me. I don’t have time to correct math that looks like it was done by a child! My niece could do better and she’s seven!” He thrust the offensive report back to the scientist that had turned it in and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Honestly, Madison can do better work – I’ve seen it. Hell, Sheppard can do better doped on pain killers and suffering from a concussion.”

He tossed his lab coat over a chair as he headed for the door. “How are our illustrious leader and Teyla enjoying their Day of Blessings?”

Ronon chuckled at the term. It was highly appropriate for the day of rituals and blessings that the couple was enduring. “The Dolorians were up next last time I checked on them.”

“Oh, god, I hope someone timed Hotan’s speech, otherwise they could grow old waiting on him to finish.”

Ronon opened his mouth to retort when a scream rang out. Ronon didn’t immediately recognize it, but Rodney did even as he bent over, covering his ears to muffle the sound. Sheppard’s scream cut off abruptly, sending both men running for the pier. It was only later that both realized that there was no way they could have heard a scream from that far away.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The Day of Blessings dawned bright and clear, but not too hot. Carson decided to enjoy the day and actually get to see some of the persons and rituals that he’d only heard or read about. As he strolled around the deck, he admired the native dress of the delegations. He’d arrived part way through the Manarian blessing and decided to stay for the Dolorian. He listened to the ritual blessing, noticing that it sounded like a marriage ceremony. He figured it probably was and that John and Teyla were married according to the customs of eight different worlds.

The beauty of the _maktaws_ reminded him of some of the fancier pictures of firebirds that he’d seen. When John opened the last cage and nothing flew out, he noticed many of the audience craning their necks as they tried to figure out what was wrong. From his vantage point on the upper deck, Carson could see John as he knelt to peer into the cage. Seeing his friend reach in, presumably to coax out whatever was in there, he got a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach that blossomed into outright fear and anger as he watched John fall back, a flash of black and orange visible on his neck.

He was already in motion, calling for the medical crew on station nearby, by the time John passed out. Just as he was several feet away John started convulsing. Teyla, O’Neill and Carter were holding him down so he didn’t injure himself further. Lorne, Stackhouse, Caldwell and several other soldiers had formed a cordon to keep the bystanders back. Hotan and Ramsus were under guard off to one side with their assistants.

Thumping to the ground at his friend’s side, Carson noted the swelling and that John’s lips were already turning blue as he gasped for a breath that he couldn’t get. Without looking up, Carson held out a hand. “I need an Epi-pen – now.”

Teyla straightened enough that she could pull one out of the pocket of her capris. She always carried one for Rodney. John did as well, but hers was easier to get to.

Carson snatched it, popped the cap and jabbed it into John’s leg, briskly rubbing the area after removing the pen. John sucked in a breath of air, but Carson knew it was only temporary. “That’ll help, but we need to get yon ugly wee beastie off.”

“Can’t we just cut it off?” Ronon asked as he appeared in their midst.

Carson grabbed a bag from the med team and pulled out an intubation kit. “Ronon, hold his head still. I need to put in an airway while the swelling is down or he’ll suffocate afore we can do anything.”

In a moment of what her Earth friends called déjà vu, Teyla shook her head as she watched Carson maneuver around the Iratus bug to perform the procedure. “No, Ronon. Any attempt to injure the creature just causes it to feed more deeply.”

Carson looked at her, thoughts forming behind his brilliant blue eyes. “I have an idea, but I need him in the infirmary afore I try it.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Brody looked on the scene with satisfaction. He saw Cordelia smile as Sheppard screamed. Now Sheppard would pay for what he did to his sister.

 


	15. Waiting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Greetings, loyal fans! Sorry for the delay in posting, but RL intruded in the worst way. 
> 
> My thanks to Nacimynom for her awesome beta skills and to Forahr for the medical assist.
> 
> Now, on with out story ...

AN: This chapter contains mention of events from my story **_Silver Wings_**.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

As he sat in the infirmary waiting room, Dave looked around and thought about everything he’d seen and heard. He was starting to understand why John had told him that what he did was important.

So much had happened since a month ago when a visitor arrived at his house unannounced. It was not often that two-star generals showed up to visit. As Dave opened the door, his first impression was of a long lost relative because the man in front of him resembled John in many ways.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_“Hi! David Sheppard, I presume? I’m Major General Jack O’Neill, United States Air Force.”_

_“Um, yes, I’m Dave Sheppard. Come in, General.” Dave directed the man to enter and closed the door behind him._

_“Thanks. Um, is there anyone else here?”_

_“No. I’m home alone tonight.”_

_The General sat on the couch. “Good. We need to talk about your brother.”_

_“What about John? What happened?”_

_O’Neill leaned back. “It’s not what has, well maybe it is, but it’s more about what’s going to happen.”_

_Dave shook his head. “I didn’t understand any of that.”_

_“Damn, I’ve definitely spent way too much time around Daniel.” He muttered then he opened his briefcase and removed a folder. “Just sign this and I’ll be able to explain.”_

_In the folder, Dave found a Non-Disclosure Agreement. He read it thoroughly; his eyebrows crept up when he got to the penalties section. “Are you serious?”_

_O’Neill leaned forward. “Deadly. That agreement is to protect this country, you, your brother and a whole lot of other people, including everyone on this world.”_

_Dave was concerned at the ‘world’ part._

_O’Neill sighed. “Just sign it and I can clear it up for you.”_

_Dave pulled out a pen, signed the form, and handed it back._

_As he accepted it, O’Neill took Dave’s hand and shook it. “Welcome to the Stargate Program.”_

_The next three hours stretched Dave’s acceptance and understanding of the world around him. It ended with O’Neill tendering an invitation. “Look, I know this is a lot, and I’ve only scratched the surface. In a month, your brother is getting married, and I think he would like it if you were there for the celebration.”_

_Dave was stunned – John was getting married again? “Are you serious?”_

_O’Neill grinned. “Oh, yes. If you want to come to the event, take three weeks’ vacation and be at the front gates of Cheyenne Mountain on the 24 th of April. I’ll explain more then because we’ll have a week before the big day.”_

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

While they waited, Dave and Teyla talked more about John. He asked about current events and she asked about his childhood. Dave was in the midst of telling Teyla some of the things that their parents had tried on John’s hair when she saw Carson leave John’s room. Knowing the doctor had to be tired after spending the last several hours focused on treating John, she brought him a cup of hot coffee as he dropped onto a chair.

“Aye, thanks, lass.” He took the time to drink about half the cup. “Well, we got the bug detached. I sedated the Colonel and the bug received a sizeable dose. Once it was semi-sedated, we were able to pierce its head with a scalpel and kill it. Unfortunately, stabbing it locked its jaws in place, so we had to break the beastie into pieces to get it off the Colonel. He’s got a nasty hickey again and a contusion on the back o’ his head from hittin’ the deck. He’s also suffering from angioedema related to the anaphylaxis.” At the quizzical looks from his audience, he explained. “Angioedema is where portions of the body swell in response to an allergen. In the Colonel’s case, his face, hands and feet are the worst with minor swelling elsewhere. The condition is temporary and will start to subside within 24 hours and I’ve got him on a ventilator to keep his airway open. After the swelling is down enough, I’ll wean the lad off the vent.”

Carson held up a hand. “Before you even ask, you can visit, but you must be quiet and extremely careful if you touch him. I plan to keep him sedated until the swelling goes down in his throat and I can remove the vent.” Carson motioned towards John’s room. “Come now, and remember what I said.” He dropped back to speak to Teyla. “I’m going to need to keep him here for the next few days then if he hasna developed any complications, I‘ll release him to your care. He’s going to be off duty for a week past that while he recovers.”

Teyla bowed her head in thanks. “Thank you, Carson. That is very thoughtful of you.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Dave had been worried sick about John. From what he’d picked up from Teyla and the doctor, this wasn’t the first time his brother had been on the wrong end of an encounter with these … bugs. Dr. Beckett’s explanation had somewhat relieved his fears. It sounded as though John had gotten off lightly.

Once the doctor waved them towards John’s room, Dave followed Ronon while Beckett dropped back to talk with Teyla. As he stepped through the door, Dave was struck by the dim light and thought the room needed to be brighter. The room brightened perceptibly. Ronon shot him a look that Dave couldn’t decipher.

Glancing around the room, Dave was stunned at the amount of equipment needed for a bug bite. Even after hearing Beckett’s prognosis and treatment regimen, Dave hadn’t been able to imagine the sight before him. A screen above the bed was tracking heart rate with an EKG on the left side of the bed watching for irregularities, and a ventilator was pumping air into John’s lungs through a tube inserted down his throat. His brother’s face was so swollen that his eyes were almost hidden and his fingers and presumably toes, were thick and sausage-like.

Dave was staring at the tube down John’s throat when Teyla said. “Hello Rodney, were you able to discover anything?”

Rodney shook his head. “No. We’re not sure where the tampering was done. The recording doesn’t show anyone near the cages although Miko is checking the footage to make sure it wasn’t looped.” He looked at his friend, lying so still in the bed. “How’s Sheppard? Is he going to be alright? Why is he so … puffy? He looks like the Michelin Man’s cousin.”

“He’s suffering from angioedema brought on by the anaphylaxis.”

“Are you certain? Your fellow voodoo practitioners say that’s only supposed to last 48 hours at most.”

“Normally it would. This is the most severe case I’ve ever seen, Rodney.” Carson let out a huff before his face broke into a tired smile. “My conjecture is that the severe reaction was caused by the size of the beastie that bit him. The swelling should start to ease over the next 24 hours but it’s going to be 3 to 4 days before it’s gone completely. After that, if there are no complications, I plan to release him to his quarters to finish recuperating. You can stay, but remember, be careful about touching him.”

 “Why the prohibition on touching? It’s never been a problem before.”

Carson sighed. “There are several reasons. First, I don’t want him surfacing from the sedation. Second, if he does surface suddenly, he’s likely to swing first and ask questions later.”

Rodney rubbed one cheek where he’d been the recipient of one of John’s punches. “True.” He’d also witnessed Sheppard’s tendency to strike first and ask later, made even more dangerous by the fact that he could do it with either hand and land a hard blow. Teyla and Ronon seemed to be the only two people that never got hit.

“Third, the wrong touch could cause a flashback. Even if I live to be a sainted hundred years old, I never want to hear a scream like that again.” Carson shifted his gaze to take in the entire group. “If he does wake come get me immediately. I’ll be back later.” With that, he slipped from the room.

Dave watched as his brother’s team took up positions around him as if in a well-rehearsed pattern. Teyla was on John’s left, Rodney was on his right, a laptop perched on a rolling table and Ronon at the foot of the bed, his legs propped on the end of John’s bed.

Teyla placed a hand on the chair beside hers. “Come Dave, sit with us.”

Dave made his way to the chair and sat. “So I take it that this happens a lot?”

Ronon snorted and Rodney let out a bark of laughter. Teyla sighed. “Unfortunately, more than we would like although this is not as serious as some have been. Sometimes it is one of us and John is here sitting vigil, but most often he is the one injured.”

Dave frowned. “Why so many injuries?”

Ronon chimed in before Teyla could, and leaned forward to look Dave in the face. “Because he leads from the front and lives by the creed that no one is left behind. He is always the rear guard if we have to run, unless he’s injured then that falls to me.”

Rodney looked up from his laptop, fingers still. “My god, Conan, that’s the most words I’ve heard you say in a while.”

Ronon shrugged.

Dave smiled slightly at the banter. “Teyla, from what you and Dr. Beckett said I gather that this has happened before?”

Teyla seemed to be struggling with her emotions. “You are correct in your deductions. This is not the first time John has been bitten by one of the Iratus insects. He was bitten once before while on a mission on a faraway planet, about seven years ago. He almost died from it.”

“He did die, Teyla,” Rodney stated bitterly. “We had to make the damned bug let go so we stopped his heart to make it think he was dead.”

“That’s barbaric!” Dave’s expression turned thoughtful. “Wait, you said you had to make it let go. Just how big is this bug? Where do they come from?”

Rodney typed a few keystrokes and spun his laptop around. “This is an Iratus bug. Thankfully they aren’t native to this planet.”

The thing on the screen looked like the love child of a scorpion and a lobster. “And you had to stop John’s heart to make it let go?”

Teyla smiled sadly. “It was John’s idea. We could not bring him back to the city with the insect still attached. If we had not acted as we did, we would not be sitting here right now.”

Dave took a moment to process what he was hearing. “How so?”

Rodney’s typing stalled once again. “Sheppard has the strongest ATA gene in the city, plus he is a very unorthodox leader. There have been many times that his bravery or skills have saved this city … and us.” Teyla and Ronon both nodded in agreement. “So, he takes care of us and we take care of him and,” Rodney stared straight at Dave “heaven help anyone that tries to abuse him or treat him as less than he is.”

Dave bowed his head. “That’s one of the reasons I’m here. We spoke some after the funeral, but there wasn’t time to say much. I regret all the years that I blindly supported my father against John. I wish he had been around to help, but I would never wish for him to be unhappy. I understand now that as much as having John in the family business would have thrilled our father, it would have destroyed his soul.”

A short time later, Teyla and Ronon left to get food for everyone. Rodney and Dave stayed behind.

“Doctor McKay, how …”

“Call me Rodney. Only my minions call me Doctor McKay.”

Dave smiled. “Alright. How did you and my brother meet?”

“He sat in the Chair in Antarctica. I was Chief Scientist for the Project. I’ve worked for the US Military for years, but never really mingled much. I detest stupid people and have no problems with telling people exactly what I think of them.”

Dave chuckled. “I’ve noticed.”

“Well, I am a genius after all. Well, the research was going slowly because Carson was the strongest gene carrier I could get to sit in the Chair and he was deathly afraid of it. He almost killed Sheppard and General O’Neill, but that’s another story. I was in a briefing when Carson runs in to tell us to follow him to where Sheppard is sitting in the Chair and it is fully functional, lit up like a Christmas tree. I asked him to think of our location in the solar system and a very detailed hologram map appeared with no effort.”

“I remember reading that report. It was one that O’Neill showed me before we left Colorado.”

“Good, that means I don’t have to retell it. After the events on Athos, I made his day when I introduced him to his first space ship. We started working more together. He picked me for his Gate team and, before I knew it, we became friends.”

Rodney looked over at his friend lying so still on the infirmary bed. “Throughout my entire life, I’ve only had a few real friends. Sheppard is at the top of that list. No matter how abrasive I get, it just rolls off him. He’s one of the few people that can keep up with me. He tries to hide it, but that sentient hair of his hides a very capable brain. I work better when he’s standing there offering suggestions or keeping me focused. Not that I’ll ever tell him that, of course.” Rodney glared at Dave. “And if you tell him, you’ll regret it.”

Dave held up his hands in surrender. “He won’t hear it from me. I like hot showers. But I do have a question. Why do you call my brother Sheppard instead of John?”

“It’s a habit I picked up from the military. I’ve worked with them so long that it’s natural. I do the same thing to my minions - keeps them from getting friendly.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Rodney was reviewing some of his research when he heard a rustle and a cough. He glanced up in time to see Sheppard’s eyes open. He checked his watch and frowned. Only two hours before, the nurse had topped his meds off; Sheppard shouldn’t have awoken already. Rodney set his laptop aside, grabbed a cup of water the nurse had left, and scooted closer to the bed. The swelling had decreased, but Sheppard’s face and hands were still puffy. Carson had removed the ventilator just before he went off duty.

He positioned the straw by Sheppard’s mouth. “Here, small sips. You’ve been on a ventilator so take it easy. No talking.”

Sheppard sipped the water Rodney was holding.

“Is the b…” Sheppard’s voice was soft and raspy.

“Didn’t you hear me say no talking? Yes, it’s gone. Carson sedated you and it and Ronon stabbed it in the head. You went into anaphylactic shock.”

Sheppard frowned and opened his mouth.

“Before you even try, I know you don’t remember. In addition to the you-know-what, you also ended up with a knot on the back of your thick skull where you hit the deck.” Rodney set the water back on the table. He looked at his friend’s droopy eyes and decided to ask a question that had concerned him now instead of later. “Um, when the b…it attacked, you screamed, right?”

“Mm hmm.”

“Well, Ronon and I heard you. On the other side of the city. Is there something you’d like to share?”

“Ancient DNA.” He breathed out as his lids closed and he dropped back into the Land of Nod.

“What the heck? What kind of answer is that?” Then it hit him. Ancient DNA. The Ancients had abilities. That meant Sheppard must be close to an Ancient himself, which explained Carson’s militant stance on Sheppard’s records.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Teyla leaned down to brush a stray lock of hair from John’s forehead. True to his word, Carson had released him after the 48-hour observation period. Dave, Ronon, Rodney, Radek, Evan, Sam and Jack were in the living room. They had agreed to meet here in order to plan and work on finding the parties responsible for attempting to kill John. She let out a sigh of relief that the insect did not attack during the marriage ceremony. Many of the guests would have been injured during the panic.

John shifted in his sleep and turned into her touch. She smiled and cupped his cheek then brushed her fingers through his hair. Satisfied that he was well, Teyla stood and returned to the discussion in the outer room. She eased into the recliner and laid the chair back.

“Miko’s working through the security logs for the timeframe in question, but it’s slow going. The hack was done through the Ancient system and they were extremely fond of layers of redundant code.” Rodney said.

“So how did the bug get here in the first place? Is there some kind of, I don’t know, a bio-sensor or something? There has to be a way to check for stuff like that, right?” Dave asked, gaze bouncing between Rodney, Sam and Radek.

“There are sensors, but there are things that can block them as well,” Radek said as he nudged his glasses up.

“The cages were checked when the Dolorians brought them to the city, correct?” Sam asked.

“Correct,” Evan stated. “A team was sent through to help transport the maktaws here. Each cage was checked before entering the city.”

“Is it possible one of the Dolorians made the swap?” Jack asked; his gaze on Evan.

“No,” Rodney said. “All of the visitors were under guard. Unless they can fly or scale walls and are more technologically advanced than rubbing two sticks together, then it was not one of our guests.”

Jack stared at Rodney for a moment. “Y’ mean like the Genii?”

Rodney flushed but stood his ground. “Even the Genii couldn’t pull this off.”

Teyla tuned out the discussion as she felt John become anxious and restless as he dreamed. She sent a burst of love and safety his way and felt the anxiety lessen. He was on the edge of deep slumber when his anxiety shifted to fear, accompanied by a hoarse scream. Ronon shot past while Teyla was struggling to rise from the recliner.

Free of the chair’s embrace, Teyla made her way into the bedroom to witness Ronon struggling to hold John. He had John’s hands pinned and was using his body to keep John on the bed as he thrashed in the throes of a nightmare. Rodney edged past her and took control of John’s hands so that Ronon could focus on controlling his movements. John let out another terrible shout and heaved his shoulders free of the bed. Ronon cursed as he scrambled for control.

“Teyla!”

Ronon’s shout drew Teyla from her immobility and she circled Rodney to reach John’s head. She reached out and clasped his head in her hands as her mind reached out to his. “John, you are safe. There is no bug. You are safe and it is dead.” She used the phrases as a mantra to soothe her husband and draw him from the night terror assailing his mind.

After a time, Teyla felt his struggles lessen then cease and he lay panting on the bed. She glanced towards Ronon and found him easing from his position to relax on the bed, ready to pounce again should it become necessary. Rodney let go John’s wrists and backed off as well.

“T’la?”

Teyla loosened her grip and brushed John’s sweat-dampened hair from his forehead. “Yes, John, I am here.”

“Bug?”

“It is dead. You were having a nightmare.” She motioned for a glass of water which Rodney handed her. Ronon shifted and helped John sit up. “Here, drink. It is only water. It will help to soothe your throat.”

Ronon braced John as Teyla sat on the edge of the bed and clasped her hands around his shaking ones as he sipped water. Rodney took her place beside the bed.

Sandwiched between Teyla and Ronon, John was quiet as he sipped his water.

“Thanks, guys.”

Rodney placed a large hand on John’s knee. “We’re family. It’s what we do.”

The bed bounced slightly as Torren climbed up. Teyla was surprised as she had not felt him approach. He crawled along the bed and into John’s lap.

“Da, you okay?”

Teyla took the water from John and he wrapped his arms around his son.

“I am now, pal. I’ve got you an’ Mommy, Uncle Ronon, and Uncle Rodney taking care of me.” John said softly as he hugged the toddler close.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The rest of the gathering had shot from their seats as they also realized what was happening but hung back. Radek knew he was no match for the Colonel and stayed out of the way. Jack, Sam and Lorne stayed back but at the ready in case of trouble. In this situation, team was best and they knew it. Dave hovered at the edge, unsure what to do. For all his intelligence, soothing his brother from a phobia-induced nightmare was out of his depth.

Dave felt the brush against his leg as Torren slipped through the door. He started to pull him back, but Jack stopped him. They watched as the littlest member of Atlantis’ Prime Gate team crawled up and snuggled into his father’s embrace.

Dave winced at hearing how rough John’s voice was, but he smiled at John’s words. He caught Jack’s eye and they cleared the doorway to leave the family in peace. Dave accompanied the others to the door.

“He needs anything, you let us know,” Jack said and indicated himself and Sam.

“Thanks, but I think they’ll be fine. Although I will suggest they get some ice cream for John.”

“Good idea,” Sam said. “It’s cold enough to soothe, easy to swallow and it’s calories he can use.”

“One gallon of strawberry ice cream coming right up,” Lorne said.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Two days later, Jack stepped from the transporter and stopped for a minute. He hadn’t had a chance to check out the tower John and his team had moved into. Sam had described it and he could tell that they’d made some improvements. The dead plants were gone, replaced with dwarf evergreens and a few woven tapestries hung on the walls.

He turned and made his way to Sheppard’s quarters. He started to swipe his hand over the door crystal when the door opened. Teyla was standing on the other side, a welcoming smile in place.

“Jack. Come in.” Teyla stepped aside so he could enter.

“How are you doing?”

“We are well.” Teyla caressed her swollen belly as they headed for the main living area. “John would have me believe he is fine, but he is still sore.”

Jack smiled at Teyla’s reply. “Well, I’ve seen the other guy so I know what he looks like.”

Jack settled onto one of the chairs where he could watch John playing with Torren on the floor. They had a set of Lincoln Logs and were in the midst of constructing a rather well-built village. Watching them reminded him of precious time spent with Charlie. He leaned forward to get a better look. “Nice, clear line of sight, nowhere for bad guys to hide, and lots of cover for the home team. Good work, John.”

John looked up at Jack. “Well, he said he wanted a village that the Wraith would have a hard time attacking. The table it’s under is supposed to be a cliff or an immense cave, I’m not sure which.”

Jack chuckled. “That’s the same idea the Pueblo Indians used.”

“That was my thought too, and for the same reasons.”

Teyla entered from their kitchen, three glasses of water in her hands. She handed one to Jack and the second to John before sitting behind John on the couch. “Are you enjoying your vacation?”

“I was until some idiot decided to give one of my Colonels an ugly wedding present.” Jack grimaced at the memory.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

As he walked through Atlantis with John, Dave was glad that O’Neill had knocked on his door back in March. John was still on light duty after his run-in with that … bug. Dave shivered in remembrance of how big the thing was, and of hearing John scream in pain. No human being should ever be in that much agony. Dave noticed that they were headed for a section of the city he hadn’t seen yet. “Where are we?”

“This is Military Country. The Marines call it “Paradise Island” as a play on words on Parris Island.”

“Okay and why are we here?”

“We’re here because today is the day the entire company is together. Once every two weeks, all the troops come together so we can fill them in on new regulations and disseminate information from the various Gate teams. It’s also a time when new assignments and promotions are handed out.”

They approached a double door beyond which Dave could see soldiers seated in a large room on the other side. Instead of walking through, John paused on the threshold.

“When we get inside, find a seat here at the back, okay?” He said.

Dave figured that John asked that because he didn’t want his presence to be a distraction. It would also give Dave the chance to watch his brother work. “Sure, no problem.”

On stage, Major Lorne was just finishing a briefing.

“Alright, ladies and gentlemen, even though he’s on light duty, the Colonel has joined us this morning.”

John stood center stage beside a podium, arms crossed as he waited for the noise to die down. “Okay, settle down. First, I would like to thank Team Stackhouse for completion of a successful trading mission on Meranda. Thanks also to Team Waters for some neat Ancient finds and to Teams Lenard and Reynolds for taking out that nest of scavengers.”

John made eye contact with every person in the room.

“Now, I have a few promotions to hand out. Come forward when I call your name. Sergeant Louise Seifert.”

A well-built, dark haired woman stepped from the crowd.

“Sergeant Louise Seifert, it is my pleasure to promote you to Gunnery Sergeant. In recognition of your demonstrated readiness for increased responsibility, you are being given your own Gate team. I’ll speak to McKay and we’ll find you a geek of your own.

“Yes Sir. Thank you, Sir.” She drew up to attention and they exchanged salutes.

“Now, go stand over there for a few minutes. Technical Sergeant Kris Hardy, please come forward.”

A slender redhead of medium height stood and made her way to the stage.

“Sir.”

“Tech Sergeant Hardy, you are hereby promoted to Master Sergeant and are being given a new assignment as well. You will now be serving on Marine Gunnery Sergeant Louise Seifert’s Gate team. Now, go stand with your team leader.”

Master Sergeant Hardy saluted her CO. The two women exchanged quick smiles and Dave felt John had made a good decision to pair them.

“Lance Corporal Mary Smith.”

A tall, brown-haired woman with an athletic build climbed to her feet and came forward.

“Sir!”

“Not so loud, Lance Corporal. I think they heard you on the East Pier.”

“Yes Sir. Sorry Sir.”

“Lance Corporal Smith, you are hereby promoted to the rank of Corporal and are assigned to Gunny Seifert’s team.”

“Yes Sir! Thank you, Sir.”

John clapped his hands. “Alright kids, show time’s over. Now get to work.”

Dave waited until most of the troops left before heading to the stage where John was talking to his newest Gate team.

When the Gate team left, Dave went to his brother’s side. “That was wonderful, John. I know you hate the spotlight, but you handled that very well.”

John shrugged and reached up to rub his neck. “I had to learn quickly. The first time I had to address the entire company, I was almost sick with worry. It was thanks to Dad that I got through it.”

“What does Dad have to do with it?”

“I remembered how he acted when he made speeches at the stockholder’s meetings. Then I just adapted the things he did to suit me and went with it. I shocked over half the company because they were expecting me to be more like Colonel Sumner.”

Dave had heard about Sumner, so he understood that perfectly.

“I’m not sure which scandalized them more: my disregard for formality or my being an Air Force pilot.”

Dave laughed at the expression on John’s face. “Probably both.”

John joined in the laughter. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”


	16. The Gift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome everyone!  
> Sorry for the long delay, but I hit a bit of a block that took a while to break up.
> 
> Thanks to Nacimynom for wielding her red pen on this story. Thanks also to Forahr for her assistance with those things medical. I appreciate you both!
> 
> Thanks also to you, my readers, who have stuck around!

Thanks to Forahr for the medical assist!

John strolled along, glad he was able to enjoy the quiet time with Teyla and Dave. The brothers had gotten to talk more and having Teyla present acted as a catalyst. Whenever she sensed that one of them was having trouble or was reticent about something, she was ready with a few soft questions or an anecdote of her own. Dave was in the middle of telling a tale from one of his birthdays when John felt a tug on his mind. He tried to shrug it off, but the tug was insistent. He stopped and eased his shields. _*“Lantis?”*_

_*“I am sorry, John. I was preparing a gift for you and your bride and it is … eager for you to receive it.”*_

Teyla and Dave had walked on a short distance further before they realized John was not with them.

“John, is everything alright?” Teyla placed her hand on his arm as she voiced her concern.

John focused on her and Dave. “Yeah. It seems that Atlantis has a wedding present for us.”

Dave’s brow furrowed. “The city … has a wedding present for you. Why am I not surprised?”

Teyla gave him a soft smile. “Because you are an intelligent man.”

John turned and headed for the nearest transporter. Once Dave and Teyla were inside, he reached out and took them to the location Atlantis showed him.

John exited the transporter, turned left and headed deeper into the city. Teyla looked around and realized that they were near the Chair Room. Instead of continuing down the corridor to the Chair, John moved towards a set of nearly hidden stairs and headed down.

At the bottom, John turned down the corridor and headed for where the Chair was located two floors above their heads.

“Has Rodney not stated that there were no rooms under the Control Chair?”

John turned his head and glanced over his shoulder at Teyla. “Well, Rodney doesn’t know everything. There are rooms here, but they are special. I hadn’t needed to access them yet, so Lantis hadn’t told me about them yet.”

He stopped at a curved wall. The Chair Room above was curved and the design carried through the tower. John closed his eyes and moved along the wall for a few feet until he determined that he was standing where one of the entrances above was located. He reached out and placed his hand on the wall. After a moment, a seam appeared then a door opened where none had previously been detected. John stepped in and stopped which caused Teyla and Dave to stop as well. The room appeared empty except for a plinth in the middle of the room upon which sat a softly glowing gold crystal octagon about three inches in diameter and an inch and a half thick. John picked it up to examine it and noticed that it appeared to twist. When he turned the top clockwise, the bottom of the box folded out with a click into eight triangular leaves to resemble a star.

Dave groaned. “Well, John, looks like you broke it.”

John shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. I think it’s supposed to open, but I’m not sure what it’s for.”

A brightening glow in the middle of the room captured their attention. It expanded, growing taller and wider until it took on the shape of a woman wearing blue-green robes with an all too familiar face.

“Greetings, John. We finally meet face to face. I am Atlantis.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Dave looked at the figure before them with wide eyes. He had seen so many wondrous things here in Atlantis that it was no wonder that John didn’t want to leave. He turned to John to tell him just that but the words died in his throat as the golden box hit the floor. John was stiff, hands clenched into fists at his sides. His face had blanched paler than milk and his breathing was shallow and fast. “John? What’s wrong?” He peered around his brother’s still form to check on Teyla. Shock was evident on her face and in her posture as well. “Teyla?” Beside him, John swayed as the shock of the figure before him set in then staggered backwards and slumped down the wall. Dave took hold of Teyla’s arm and steered her to the wall beside John.

“What is wrong?” The glowing figure – Atlantis - asked from behind him. “His mind is chaos.”

“I don’t know.” Dave answered. He needed someone down here, someone that could tell him why his brother and sister-in-law had just turned into stone statues. He remembered the radio that John had insisted he carry at all times. Now, who to call? “Doctor Beckett? This is Dave Sheppard.”

_“Beckett here, Mr. Sheppard. What can I do for ye?”_

“I’m in a room two floors beneath the … Chair Room, I believe Teyla called it. John and Teyla are both in shock at something we found, but I don’t know why.”

_“You said two floors ‘neath the Chair?”_

“Correct.” Dave ran a hand through his hair. Teyla’s breathing was a bit shallow, but her eyes were wide and she was almost as pale as John.

_“I’m on my way. I’ll have Rodney come too.”_

“Thank you.” Relief washed through him once he knew that there would soon be answers.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Rodney caught up with Carson as he exited the transporter and the irate scientist immediately started quizzing him.

“What is going on? You pull me away from examining what could be an important find to come hold Sheppard’s hand. What happened, did he find an Ancient rat and it scared his hair straight? And what’s this about a room beneath the Chair Room? Radek and I examined every inch of that wall and couldn’t find a seam. We even checked the floor plans and there are no rooms listed below the Chair Room and now Sheppard’s supposedly found a room there.”

Carson was amazed that the Canadian got all that out in one breath. “Rodney, I can’t tell you more than I know.” He said as he headed down the stairs. “All David Sheppard said was that the three of them were in this room and that something was wrong with the Colonel and Teyla.”

Rodney subsided, but Carson could hear him muttering softly behind him as they descended. They reached the proper floor and followed the same path their friends’ had just a short time ago and spotted Dave Sheppard standing in the doorway to a room that shouldn’t exist.

“Thank goodness you’re here.” Dave called as the pair quickened their steps. “Teyla’s doing alright but I think John’s in shock.”

That made Carson move faster. He shot into the room and immediately focused on his patients. After a quick assessment, he shrugged off his backpack and pulled a portable O2 canister out, attached a mask and slipped it over John’s nose and mouth. “C’mon, Colonel, breathe for me, that’s it, deep breaths now.”

John’s breaths were still ragged at first but quickly calmed due to the influx of oxygen.

Carson reached out and rubbed John’s sternum to see how responsive his friend was. A groan issued from his lips as John’s eyes fluttered open then closed again. Carson tapped his cheek. “There’s a lad. Let’s see those peepers of yours.”

After a moment, John’s eyes opened again. Carson was concerned at the glassy look he got, then John blinked and awareness flooded back. John started to rise, but Carson held him down. “Stay still lad, and get your wits back.”

At John’s nod, Carson turned to Dave. “Now, can ye tell us what happened?”

“I can answer that, Carson.”

Alerted by the odd tone in his voice, Carson raised his head and shifted towards Rodney who was standing nearby. “Well, what?”

“I would say it’s due to her.”

“Her?” Carson followed Rodney’s finger and noticed that they were not alone. A glowing figure stood off to one side wearing a familiar face. It took Carson a minute to place her as he had not personally known Elizabeth Weir when she was alive as the real Elizabeth had died before he was found in one of Michael’s labs. “Elizabeth?”

The figure shook her head. “No, Doctor Beckett, I am not Elizabeth Weir. I chose her visage because she holds a special place in my Muse’s thoughts, but I see that this image is also distressful.”

“It is because John blames himself for not saving her.” Teyla said. “They were friends, but losing her hurt him deeply.”

Atlantis bowed her head to Teyla. “Thank you, Teyla Emmagan. Now I understand. I shall modify my image.”

“Well, before you cause any more confusion, may I suggest using an amalgam of the female residents, or possibly the image your previous Muse preferred?”

“My previous Muse, Jolindar, erased her image from my banks shortly before he left for Earth. Your suggestion has merit, though.”

The figure softened and flickered for a moment before reforming. Now Atlantis had pale skin, blue-green eyes and long red-blonde hair.

Carson checked John’s pulse once more then removed the oxygen mask and helped him to sit up.

Atlantis bowed deeply to him. “I am sorry, John. It was not my intent to harm you.”

John waved a hand. “It’s alright. I know you didn’t mean it.” He took a deep breath. “Now, you mentioned a gift?”

Atlantis pointed to the box. “That is the key to your gift.” Glowing characters appeared in the air. “This is the address for the planet Amphitrite. There you will find your gift.” She bowed deeply once again to John before dissipating in a sparkling swirl.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

John still felt shaky, but it was fading. From the feelings of love that Teyla was smothering him with, she understood why he’d reacted as he had. He sent back an answering pulse of affection. A splash of gold appeared in his vision and he blinked then realized that it was the puzzle box. The box was warm to his touch and he got a sense of eagerness from it, kinda like a puppy. He took it and peered past it to find his brother’s worried face looking down. “Thanks, Dave.” John reached up with his right arm and Dave grabbed it and pulled. Once he was secure, John turned and gave Teyla a hand.

“Now, would you all please explain what just happened?” Dave asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

“Let’s get comfy first then I’ll explain.” He waved a hand and benches slid out from the walls.

“Colonel, why don’t you lie down an’ let Rodney tell it? I want you to take it easy for a bit.”

“Okay.” John stretched out on one of the couches and Teyla took a seat by his head close enough that her thigh brushed his hair. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He closed his eyes and felt his tension drain away. While Rodney told Dave about Elizabeth, John let himself float. Elizabeth would always be a sore point with him because he felt he’d failed her.

John opened a door through his shields and tuned into Rodney and flinched at the jumble of emotions. Teyla placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and Carson patted him on the leg while Rodney continued the tale.

“We, or rather I, discovered the way to turn that part of their programming back on. Then they … they … they decided that the best way to beat the Wraith was to take out their food source.”

John cracked open an eye and saw the look of incredulity cross Dave’s face. “But you said the Wraith feed on humans.”

“They do. The Asurans started destroying populations on worlds that were likely to be culled. If they caught a Hive in the process of culling, they destroyed both the Hive and the humans. The SGC decided that it was time to take the Asurans out altogether so they sent the Apollo to launch a strike against the Asuran homeworld. All the strike did was set them back and anger them. They launched a counter-attack on Atlantis and Elizabeth was critically injured. To save her, I reactivated some inert nanites she had in her body from a run-in with Asurans months earlier. Sheppard had to move the city, but the attack had drained our power too low and we dropped out of hyperspace. To save Atlantis, we staged a raid on their world to steal a ZPM. Ronon and Sheppard had the ZPM, but were cornered by Asuran guards. Elizabeth hacked their network and fought their leader in order to allow us to escape.”

John took up the end of the story from his supine position, his voice just above a whisper. “She ordered me to leave her behind and I had no choice.” He felt Teyla’s hand shift to his arm and squeeze gently in reminder that he was not alone. “I was the only person that could pilot Atlantis to its new home. Some months later, she returned with a group of Asurans that had split off from the rest. They wanted us to build them human bodies so they could ascend. We built them limited, organic bodies. They wanted to go to a planet so they could finish the Ascension process, but after realizing how dangerous they were, Elizabeth had us reprogram the Gate to open onto a space Gate instead. They stepped through and were deactivated.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Carson insisted on a trip to the infirmary for all three Sheppards. Dave protested, but Carson won. Teyla and the baby, as well as Dave were given clean bills of health. After a bit of prodding, John admitted to a headache and some dizziness. After some thought, Carson decided not to keep him, but did give him a couple of Tylenol 3 and recommended that he get some more rest before dinner.

Briefing Woolsey was easier. They gathered in the small conference room where Rodney attempted to call up the Gate address that Atlantis had given them. The address was, unfortunately, in the portion of the database that was only accessible by a Muse. Without moving from his seat, John waved his hand across the table in front of him and a holographic keyboard appeared. Typing rapidly, he accessed the restricted database and brought the info on their destination up on the big screen. John also sent a copy of it to Rodney’s secure file and the pleasure that replaced the look of disgust on his friend’s face was worth it.

“This is the destination Atlantis gave us. The planet’s name is Amphitrite.” Rodney skimmed and continued reading. “According to the database, there was a manufacturing facility on the planet that, if it’s still there, Atlantis believes we will find interesting and useful. As is typical, the Ancients didn’t note what kind of manufacturing facility it was.”

John could read it, but allowing Rodney to do the briefing gave their sometimes irascible scientist a way to contribute. “Well, she did give us the address to Praxis, so I’d say she’s got pretty good instincts.”

Woolsey straightened at the planet’s name. “Amphitrite was the wife of Poseidon, the God of the Oceans. I wonder if that is a clue to the facility’s function.”

“It’s possible.” John slouched down in his chair to rest his aching head on the back. “Over the years, the SGC has found that a lot of Ancients and Goa’uld were behind many of Earth’s legends.”

Woolsey wrote out a few notes. “What do we know about the planet?”

John watched as Rodney scrolled through the info on his laptop, the view screen keeping pace with him.

“As with Praxis, the Gate is underground. The facility, if it’s intact, sits quite a distance away from the Gate so we’ll need to take Jumpers.” A map appeared on the screen showing a basic map of the complex and the entrance cavern with little pictures of Jumpers included. “From the diagram, I’d say the atrium can accommodate at least four Jumpers.”

John spun his chair to face Woolsey. “Well?”

The Director removed his glasses and set to cleaning them. “You have a go, Colonel. How many personnel are you taking?”

“I’m thinking two Jumpers, Lorne’s team, Seifert’s team, SG-1, Carson, two nurses and a handful of scientists. From what I picked up from Atlantis, we’ll probably need them.”

Rodney’s head shot up to stare at John. “Oh, god, we’re so dead.”

Teyla glanced across the table to where Rodney was trying to become as inconspicuous as possible. “Why do you say that? We have survived much worse than a trip to a pleasant planet in search of an Ancient facility.”

Rodney pointed at John. “Because our glorious leader wants to take a baby team, a gaggle of scientists, and SG-1 along with us. O’Neill is as much of a trouble magnet as Sheppard is and Mitchell is almost as bad.”

“That’s why Teal’c and I are here.” Ronon pulled his blaster and spun it to punctuate his point.

“Oh, and that makes me feel so much better, Conan.”

“It should.”

“Quit griping, Rodney. I haven’t even asked them yet.”

“Like there’s any chance of them saying no?” Rodney snorted. “O’Neill will say yes because he knows Sam and Daniel will want to go. Mitchell will go because he’s too much like you and Teal’c will go because he’s … Teal’c.”

Briefing the teams was easier than briefing Woolsey. John assembled the teams and scientists that were going in the bigger conference room. Jack did say yes with only a brief hesitation after seeing the gleam in Sam’s eyes. Gunnery Sergeant Seifert was thrilled to be going on a mission with both John’s team and SG-1. He laid out the mission plan in concise terms, stressing that, like anything else from the database; the information was over 10,000 years old.

Departure was set for 0900 hours the next morning.

“Gunny Seifert, your geek will be Anthropologist Claire Botsford. She’s been studying the Ancient systems and is pretty proficient. She’s also qualified with the P90 and the 9 mil.”

From the side, Rodney sniffed. “She’s not my standard, but she’s competent. She won’t get her team blown up, unlike some of the other incompetents in my department.”

John grinned. That was high praise coming from Rodney. “Excellent. Make sure you see Master Chief Marsh and get everyone kitted out.” He turned his attention to Carson, Emily and Linda. He’d planned to just take one doctor and a nurse, but Carson insisted on a second because of the number of people going. “Carson, I know you keep your gear ready, but check and make sure you aren’t low on anything. Linda, this is your first time off world, correct?”

“Yes, Colonel. I just recently passed my weapons qualifications.”

“Emily?”

“Since I’ve been here, yes. I did go offworld a few times with SG-11.”

“Good, Carson …”

“Aye, I’m already on it. We’re headed there next. I’ll make sure the lassies have what they need.”

“Thanks.” John turned to the three scientists that were accompanying them. Doctor Monica Nykos was a systems analyst who worked with the Ancient database. Atlantis liked her, said she was polite even though she was picky about translations and categorizations. Doctor Sandy Pearce was a system manager who worked with Radek on a lot of the consoles and systems. Doctor Elizabeth “Liz” Pruss was a xenobiologist with a minor in the Ancient systems. He wanted her along in case they ran into trouble with any native fauna or flora.

“Do any of you need gear?”

Sandy stepped forward. “No, Colonel. We took care of that after we were notified of this mission.”

John smiled at the three, all of whom colored a bit at the attention. “Excellent, I’ll see you in the morning at 0850 hours and make sure you have extra batteries.”

Teyla smiled and shook her head at John’s effect on the women and his obliviousness.

After the scientists left, only his team and SG-1 remained. “How ‘bout the rest of you?”

Jack looked around at his wife and team. “Nope, we’re good.”

“Make sure your TAC vests are well-stocked. If you need anything, see the Quartermaster.”

Cam smiled. “Relax, Shep. We’re old hands at this.”

John gave him one of the looks he usually saved for Rodney when he was being dense. “I know that, but while you’re in my city, I’m responsible for you. Everything is finally going right with my life and I’d rather not screw it up by getting any past or current member of SG-1 damaged.”

Later that night, a different discussion took place about the mission.

“No, Teyla, I’m sorry, but I’m not risking you or our child on a mission, even one as tame as this should be.” John wrapped his arms around his wife and held her close. “It would destroy me if anything happened to you.”

Teyla took a deep breath then slowly let it out. “I do not like it, but I understand. I would rather be with you, but if you run into danger you would be too worried about protecting me and would suffer harm.” She shook her head. “I do not want our children growing up without a father so I shall be here waiting for your safe return.”

John leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “Thank you for not making this difficult. I love you …” He would have said more, but Teyla chose that moment to capture his lips in a passionate kiss that brought any other thoughts to a screeching halt.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, famine to feast tonight! 
> 
> Thanks to Nacimynom for her awesome beta!

Everyone arrived at the jumper bay on time for the mission including Rodney. John had his team and SG-1 on Jumper One while Lorne had his team, their medics, scientists and Seifert’s team. When he started to split the group up, a brief look of panic had crossed Lorne’s face so John decided to not give his XO a heart attack. The downside to having SG-1 in his Jumper was that he had Sam and Rodney together. It was currently quiet, but he didn’t hold out hope that it would last.

They exited the Gate into stygian darkness. “What the heck? I thought you said this was a land Gate.”

“Hey, don’t blame me! Your girlfriend is the one playing jokes.”

The cavern brightened. The light revealed a verdant landscape within the space.

“I’m picking up a faint energy reading. The cavern is equipped with an artificial sun. The sensor readings say it has a breathable atmosphere although the gravity is 0.83 Earth normal even though Amphitrite is ten percent larger.” Rodney glanced over in disgust after a moment. “I’m not picking up any larger energy readings that would indicate the presence of a facility. Are you certain Atlantis wasn’t playing an April Fool’s joke on you?”

“Yes, Rodney, I’m certain that the ancient city did not play a practical joke on me.” John’s tone said exactly what he thought of the idea.

A warning icon popped up on the HUD with text below it asking for identification. John sent the jumper’s IFF along with his own authentication code. A moment later the angry red warning icon was replaced by a cheerful green crosshair hovering over one portion of the screen.

“Lorne, you should have our destination on-screen.”

“Yes Sir. It just popped up.”

“Make sure you stay on my tail. I get the feeling that deviation will not be good.”

Their destination was only ten minutes away. When they reached the end of the path, their green guide had winked out. John and Evan held the Jumpers in a hover before the blank wall that blocked their egress.

Rodney looked up from his laptop then shot John a glare. “Well, guess it’s time to go home. Tell Atlantis thank you for the wonderful trip to nowhere that she gave you.”

John countered the glare with a look so cold an ice cube wouldn’t melt. “Trip’s not over yet, McKay.”

A grinding noise echoed in the cavern as a set of doors slid open. Lights flickered on the other side as long dormant systems woke. John edged Jumper One through the opening once there was enough clearance with Lorne following suit. They found themselves in a wide antechamber. Four tunnels branched off, two jumper sized and two human sized. Rodney, Monica and Sandy hurried over to the nearest consoles and plugged in. Everyone else spread out for a chance to stretch their legs and poke around.

“Colonel, this is incredible.” Sandy yelled from one of the terminals.

“I have operation manuals for …” Monica started but what else she was going to say was drowned out by howling as a group of creatures shot from the smaller tunnels.

“Fall back,” John yelled as practically everyone opened fire. The cavern echoed from the sharp retorts of the P90s and 9 mils, punctuated by the deeper blasts from Ronon’s Particle Magnum and Teal’c’s staff weapon. Unfortunately, the creatures, which were about dog size but could move on two or four legs like a monkey, were also fast. “Switch to single shot and watch your angles.” John knew he didn’t need to tell the military but the scientists needed the reminder.

Carson and the two nurses had stayed close to Jumper Two and had retreated inside when the creatures flooded in. Teal’c took up position at the end of the ramp, his staff flying in long arcs and sweeping the creatures away. Rodney, Monica and Sandy made it to cover in Jumper One and John could hear their pistols firing. Seifert’s team managed to get back to back, and was keeping the creatures at bay, but they were cut off.

John bit off a curse as he slapped a new clip in his P90.

“Colonel, I noticed something about the creatures.” Liz said from behind him.

“I’m a little busy, Doctor Pruss.”

“It’s important.”

“What is it?”

“The monkey-dogs don’t like the ATA gene. Whenever they get near someone that has it, they flinch and scramble away. Also, the stronger the carrier, the larger the area of influence that person has.”

Sparing the attention to confirm Pruss’ theory, he glanced at his own area and there were none of the creatures within ten feet of where he stood. He reached up and tapped his radio. “Everyone without the ATA gene get inside a jumper. Those with the gene provide cover and switch to full auto.”

“Sheppard, where are you going?”

“To get my people, Ronon.”

“I’ll come …”

“NO! You don’t have the gene Chewie. You can see how fast these things are – they’ll tear you to pieces.”

A presence at his side caused a sigh to escape. He reached up and changed his radio back to normal mode from vox. “I wish you wouldn’t Sir.”

“Tough, Sheppard, I’m coming with you. I’ve put a lot of effort into you and I’m not going to let it go to waste.”

John groaned. First Rodney, now Jack. “Please be careful. I don’t want to explain to your wife that I got you killed.”

“Right back atcha. Teyla’s too good for you to make her a widow.”

“Trying my best not to, Sir.”

The pair moved out and easily fell into sync. Carefully aimed bullets and blasts emanated from the two jumpers to land to either side of the two men. They covered the distance to Seifert’s team quickly.

John took a moment to check the scene. The number of creatures had thinned, but they were now concentrated between them and the jumpers. They were also getting braver. Not wanting to risk the gauntlet to get back, John decided to use his hole card. “Cover me.”

Jack gave him a hairy eyeball. “What are you gonna do?”

“Hail a taxi.”

Jack just shook his head and went back to picking off the ugly creatures.

John sucked in a deep breath, held it, and then slowly released it. “Jumper One, everyone hang on tight.” His mind made the connection with Jumper One easily. Responding to his commands, the ramp partially rose as the jumper lifted from the rock surface. Three feet above the floor, the jumper paused then started towards John, Jack and the trapped team.

Jumper One dropped to the floor six feet away atop several of the creatures as one of the monkey-dogs, crazier than the rest and dying from multiple gunshots, smashed into John and broke his concentration. John yelled as needle sharp teeth pierced his left leg. John loosed his P90 to dangle as he pulled his Ka-bar from his belt and stabbed it through the monkey-dog’s skull. He yanked the knife free and used it to pry the ugly thing’s jaws apart.

The ramp lowered and Botsford helped a hopping Master Sergeant Hardy up the ramp. Hardy had a weak gene and one of the monkey-dogs had tagged her. Smith and Seifert backed up the ramp and kneeled at the top to give the two officers cover. John and Jack crept backwards as well. Once they were in the jumper, John once again reached out and took control and raised the ship several feet into the air, well out of the creatures’ range.

John swayed as he made his way through the confines of the jumper. A hand grasped his shoulder and halted his progress.

“Son, you need to get those wounds tended.”

John glanced back to catch the silver-haired General’s eye. “I will as soon as we reach our destination.”

“Nope, you do it now. You’re bleeding all over this nice jumper.”

A grimace crossed John’s face. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”

“And I’m certain it won’t be the last.” Jack said. “Now sit down and let Sam patch you up.”

John dropped onto a hastily cleared section of one of the bench seats. Sam sliced John’s pant leg open as Daniel handed her the med kit.

Jack took up position in the doorway. “If this place is what we think it is, we don’t want those … things doing that again. Doctor Pruss, any idea what set them off?”

Liz nodded. “I believe they were attracted by the jumpers.” She scrolled through her tablet. “From what I’ve read, they were bred to be guard dogs and are genetically predisposed to seek out persons without the ATA gene. Centuries of isolation and inbreeding have made their imperative worse.”

John looked up at Jack. “I love dogs, but those have got to go.”

“I agree.” Jack turned to Rodney. “McKay, can you keep us steady in a hover?”

“Um, sure.”

The ramps were lowered on both jumpers and the rest of the monkey-dogs were taken out.

“Sheppard, you’ll have to send sweep teams through to make sure there are none left.”

John grimaced and nodded as Sam hit a deep spot. Finished, she gave him a hand up and helped him to the cockpit. Passing the area of storage where the power bars were, he grabbed a handful as he passed into the forward cabin. Rodney scooted to the co-pilot’s seat in order to allow John to drop into the pilot’s chair. John dropped two of the bars in Rodney’s lap and kept the other two.

John gobbled the bars down in four bites, crumpled the wrappers and stuffed them in the small trash bin. “Sorry about the accommodations, folks, but it appears we don’t have much further to go. Once we’re safely away, some of you can shift to Lorne’s jumper.”

A jumble of voices filtered forward. “We’re good.”

John shifted the stick forward. “Alright then, let’s see what’s at the end of the Yellow Brick Road.”

John steered the Jumper through the left hand tunnel. He could have flown it blindfolded if necessary. The tunnel was definitely man-made and ran arrow straight. After several minutes, they reached a large, circular room with only one man-sized doorway breaking up the expanse of its rocky walls. The rest of the room was ringed with landing pads for the jumpers. John lit on one nearest the door while Lorne set down on the other side.

The group piled from the jumpers to check out their surroundings. Louise shined her light up and caught a glimpse of a spiral iris.

“Colonel, we have a roof hatch.” Louise called out.

“Good. Seifert, I want your team to stay here. Hardy, get off that leg.”

Carson bore down on John. “You should take yer own advice, Colonel.”

“Can’t. If this place is like Praxis, anyone who steps through that door first that isn’t me will get toasted.”

Daniel bustled up. “What do you think this place is, John?”

John gave him a crooked smile. “Nope, not telling.” He caught the gleam in Cam and Jack’s eyes and pointed a finger at them. “Not a word from either of you, got it?”

Jack simply nodded while Cam made a motion of buttoning his lips.

Daniel groaned. “Guys, please?”

“Patience you must have if secret you wish revealed.” John said in his best Yoda imitation.

John moved to the doors, limping slightly, Ronon and Rodney on his heels. Lorne, his team and SG-1 gathered behind him. He noticed a familiar imprint and reached out to touch the center of the door where a red crystal pulsed.

Rodney reached out, grabbed John’s arm and tugged him back. “Sheppard, that thing is giving off high energy readings.”

“I figured that, Rodney.” John shook his arm loose. “That crystal is an explosive lock.”

Rodney’s voice shot up an octave. “Then why are we so close?”

“Because I have the key.”

John reached into his tac vest, pulled out the puzzle box and touched the hidden stud to open it. Stepping forward, he inserted the star into the depression. At the key’s touch, the crystal flickered and shut off. He caught the crystal as it dropped free and handed it to Rodney.

“Why’d you hand this to me?” Rodney asked as he held it at arm’s length.

“Cause you’ll keep track of it.”

The doors parted smoothly to reveal another round room, metallic doors stood evenly spaced around its circumference with a semi-circular console holding pride of place in the center. A shimmer in the air announced their hostess.

_“Greetings, Muse of Atlantis. I am Amphitrite, Mistress of the Ocean.”_

John stepped forward and took a good look at Amphitrite. She looked like the stereotypical Greek goddess: long dark hair that fell in waves to her waist, alabaster pale skin, regal features. Her eyes shifted from blue to green and back like the Mediterranean although she wore a long sleeved tunic and divided skirt that probably inspired the clothing designs of Ancient Greece.

“Greetings Amphitrite, I’m Colonel John Sheppard, Military Commander of Atlantis and her Muse.”

Amphitrite cocked her head at them. “You have come for the Areions?”

“Um, the Areions?”

Amphitrite waved her hand at the screens behind her. “The Areions. Unfortunately, only two are complete as is one of the Naiads.”

John edged forward, Lorne, Jack, Mitchell and Rodney trailing behind. Most of the screens showed skeletons or half-filled frames. The three in the center had different views – Ancient warships. Two were the familiar Aurora class battlecruisers while the third, smaller and sleeker, was completely new. “Holy crap.”

“Shep, I think I love that city of yours.” Cam announced.

“Sheppard, this is one heck of a wedding present.” Jack said.

“Yes, Sir.” John peered over at his geek as he checked the readouts. “McKay, do they have power?”

“There’s plenty of power although the ZPMs are in standby mode. Which one do you want to try first?”

“Well, I’m thinking the smaller one first.”

“Why? It’s probably some rich Ancient’s space yacht.”

“Nope, it’s a warship.” John reached out and changed the display to show the schematics of the smaller ship. “Look here, here, and here. Those are firing ports. She’s also heavily loaded with magazines filled with a high powered mid-size drone and the engines are way too big to be anything else but a warship.” John tilted his head and pursed his lips in thought. “Kinda reminds me of the _Defiant_.”

“Um, excuse me Colonel, but how would a spaceship remind you of a Navy tug?” Claire Botsford asked from the passenger compartment.

“Claire, he’s not talking about a tug boat. He’s talking about the _Defiant_ from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.”

“Oh, sorry Louise, I forgot about that one. I was more of a Next Generation fan.”

“It also appeared in the Next Generation movie _First Contact_.” Sam called back with a grin.

“Ah, thanks Colonel Carter.”

“These three have yet to be given designations.” Amphitrite interjected. “What is your pleasure?”

John cast a glance at the AI. “Gimme a minute and I’ll let you know.”

Cam grinned. “So, you gonna name the small one _Defiant_?”

“Hmm, no. We are defying the general attitude here in Pegasus, but I want something more … evocative.”

“Shep, why not use your call sign?” Cam said.

“Cam?”

Rodney turned and looked at John, whom he could have sworn was blushing. “In all the years I’ve worked with the US military, every pilot I’ve ever heard of had a call sign. It’s often one of the first things they tell you. But over six years and countless missions later, I don’t know yours, which means it’s probably something embarrassing.”

Cam shook his head. “That’s not it. Shep actually has two. He only uses the first one cos he’s also humble.”

John shook his head. “I don’t think Shepherd is a good name for a warship.”

Cam gave him a ‘don’t be dense look’ he had to have learned from his mother. “Not that one. The other one.”

Jack looked at the two pilots. “So? Well? What?”

John remembered the first time he heard that string of questions sitting in a helicopter outside the Ancient outpost on Earth as he turned his head away and mumbled something the rest didn’t hear.

“Excuse me son, but the rest of us didn’t hear that.”

John cleared his throat and spun to face his friends. “It’s Phoenix.”

Sam looked at him with a confused look on her face. “So why don’t you use it, John?”

“I don’t use Phoenix because I don’t want the extra attention.”

“His flight squadron gave it to him after the third time he returned from an extraction under heavy fire conditions in a chopper that shouldn’t have made it back.” Cam said.

Rodney snapped his fingers. “That explains why you’re so good at handling damaged jumpers.”

“Yes, Rodney, it does.” John gritted out. He looked at the expectant faces surrounding him and sighed. “Fine. Phoenix it is. Any ideas for the other two?”

“I have a suggestion.” Daniel piped up. “Name one _Enterprise_ and the other _Gungnir_.”

“Daniel,” Jack drawled, “haven’t we talked about you not giving things weird names?”

Daniel opened his mouth to protest when John chuckled.

“ _Gungnir_ … I like it.”

Jack spun to face John. “What is it?”

Cam beat John to the punch. “ _Gungnir_ is the name of Odin’s spear. It’s said to never miss its target.”

Mollified by Cam’s answer, Jack turned to Daniel. “Since it’s something cool, I’ll allow it this time.”

“It’s better than Ship 1 and Ship 2, which is what you would have named them.” Daniel said.

Jack started to reply, but John used his authority as mission commander to nip the argument in the bud.

“Alright, let’s get this show moving. We’ll board _Enterprise_ first. O’Neill, you’ll command with Sam, the rest of your team, and Seifert’s as crew.” John ordered. “Rodney and I’ll come back here then we’ll head to _Gungnir_. Lorne, you’ll captain with your team, Doctor Pearce, and Doctor Nykos as crew. Doctor Pruss, you’re with me. Carson, I’ll let you choose which ship you want to be on.”

“I’m goin’ with you, Colonel. I want to keep an eye on that leg.”

John motioned towards the jumpers, but Amphitrite blocked the path. “There is an easier way than through use of the Gateships.” She gestured towards the doorways spaced about the room and one slid open. “The transporters will take you to the embarkation tubes.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Using the transporters was definitely the way to go. His leg appreciated the motorized umbilical tube.

“Everyone stay together. No matter how tempting, do not wander off. We’re heading for engineering then the bridge.” John glanced at the assembled group. “Cam, you and Teal’c watch our six.”

Cam frowned. “Isn’t that a bit paranoid, Shep?”

Rodney let out a harsh bark. “Paranoia’s a job requirement here, Colonel.”


End file.
